The Girl With The Green Bandanna
by N-Badger97
Summary: Join May Maple Mendoza on her journey through the beautiful tropical region of Hoenn to become the best...and to try and bury her past demons. A loose novelization of Pokémon Emerald with my own twists and a handful of new characters. Rated M for the use of strong language, strong violence, and adult themes. Contains Hoennshipping (BrendanXMay).
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Welcome back to Pokémon: The Hoenn Story (which was originally posted January 9th 2014), or as its called now...The Girl With The Green Bandanna. For those of you reading this for the first time, I deleted my story to do my best to revise it and make it better. So what you see before you is the updated version, I hope you enjoy!**

**A/N: This story is set in an AU of the Pokémon Emerald world. There will be some content that may be deemed violent, or offensive by some people. Know that some of the views expressed by certain characters are not necessarily my own.**

_"Character thoughts as well as pokemon dialogue will be in italics." _

* * *

_"You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could've, would've happened...or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move the fuck on."_

_-Tupac Shakur _

**Prologue**

**Sootopolis City 1978**

_Tension_

That's what flooded the Sootopolis City pokemon center, a tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. Amongst the huddled masses looking at a T.V situated in the lounge of the facility sat a large six foot four, twenty two year old sharp faced man, with piercing brown eyes, a clean shaven face, and a buzz cut. He was modest, wearing only ragged blue jeans, old work boots, a plain black t-shirt, and a brown trench coat. He looked nothing of the image of what the title of his occupation would evoke, for he was the current champion of the Hoenn region. But even a champion carries with him demons of his past, and in coming to his hometown of Sootoplolis, he wished to quell them. He wanted to show this city (and to himself) that even after all it had thrown at him, and taken from him, he was still standing, that he had overcome.

Unfortunately for him and the future of Hoenn, this wasn't the night he should have come back.

It all happened so fast, One moment Jonathan was in the pokemon center to check in for the night, and _**BOOM, **_all hell broke loose. A loud thundering shockwave was heard and felt by all the citizens of Sootopolis. At first, the masses dismissed it as a random incident, but then the news bulletins and internet videos surfaced of a much more disturbing reality.

Mt. Chimney, a large volcano that sat in the central part of the Hoenn mainland had erupted. The large explosion had sent a large amount of ash into the atmosphere, slowly shrouding Hoenn in a dark unearthly blanket of falling ash. As the ash started to fall, the people ran indoors and switched on their to watch the events unfold from the supposed comfort and safety of their homes.

As they watched the lava flow down from the volcano from their small screens, they all felt a sudden sense of doom, and as Jonathan sat in the pokemon center with all the huddling masses, they got their first experience with the doom that came with this night.

In an instant, the floor started to shake violently making the lights flicker on and off, while the harsh winds rattled the windows of the center, threatening to shatter them all. The people were thrown back and forth across the floor, their screams blending into one terrifying symphony of chaos. Just as Jonathan thought the whole building was going to collapse on the lot of them, the shaking slowly became less violent, eventually coming to a halt. The people still shaken by the incident still screamed in fear, and the winds continued to rattle the glass windows. As Jonathan tried to regain his bearings and stop his head from spinning, the pokemon center's doors flew open.

In stepped a man wearing white pants, white loafers, and a blue overcoat. His hair was a battered mess, a victim of the harsh winds outside. This was Juan, the Sootopolis City gym leader, and longtime friend of Jonathan. Juan wrestled the door from the wind and closed it, only allowing a few particles of ash inside the chaotic center. As he turned around, he revealed a black respirator resting on his face.

"Juan, what the hell were you doing outside?" Jonathan asked, trying to speak louder than the screaming occupants, and the robotic Nurse Joy trying her best to calm them.

"I was making sure everybody was indoors" Juan replied as he removed his respirator to reveal a visually shaken face "but then the wind became too damn harsh. I could barely tell were I was going, which is freakin unbelievable! I mean you and I have practically lived on these streets, but tonight I didn't even recognize em."

"A lot of unbelievable shit is happening tonight" Jonathan said aloud. Just as he said that however, a loud core racking roar rocked Sootopolis with as much force as the tremors that came before it. The occupants became even more frantic and began practically bouncing around the center, like pressurized gas in a container. They wanted out, but knew that outside was dangerous if not more then the inside of the center, so all they could do was move. Moving helped release all the energy that came from the adrenaline coursing through each individuals veins. As Jonathan and Juan stood silent and in disbelief of what they had just heard (despite the absolute disorder around them), another roar erupted throughout the city. Now the occupants were about ready to break the walls down, their moves becoming so violent, that they pushed Juan and Jonathan up against the walls near the door.

"Jonathan we need to get out of here!" Juan yelled as he pushed a person that was pressing up against him away.

"Why do hell should we do that?" Jonathan yelled back as he too pushed someone pressing up against him away.

"Cause we as leaders of the community are obligated to act during times of crisis, and if this wonderful weather and loud roars don't qualify for a crisis, then I don't know what does!"

Jonathan knew Juan's words rang true. Between the pair, Juan was the voice of reason, usually keeping rash Jonathan from doing something he would regret (although there was a period of time when Jonathan just gave up on himself and cut off communications with Juan). Jonathan looked at Juan and nodded. The two then pushed people away to get to the door of the pokemon center, and opened it. They were immediately greeted with a cold wind blowing ash onto their faces. Jonathan and Juan turned around and immediately closed the door to prevent further chaos from plaguing the center. Once that task was complete, they turned around once more, this time covering their faces with their hands.

"Alright, what's the plan?" Jonathan asked, turning toward Juan.

"We find the source of those roars" Juan yelled so he would not be drowned out by the harsh winds, but just as he said this, another loud roar shook the city to its core. Jonathan and Juan cringed at the deafening roar, its full capability shown outside.

"That sound like it came from the lake!" Juan yelled as they were still reeling from the force of the roar. Jonathan shook his head to pop his ears and yelled "let's go!"

Juan nodded, and the two descended the downhill street they were on (most streets in Sootopolis were sloped because Sootopolis was in fact, built on a large crater) toward the large fresh water lake at the center of the town.

As the two friends neared the lake, they could tell that the wind was much more violent, and the ash rained down in large blankets rather than a few particles strewn about by the wind. The closer they got, the greater their sense of doom became. Small mini tremors took them by surprise as the swayed too and fro from their considerable force. There was definitely something going on at the lake, and whatever it was, it wasn't good.

After stumbling ever more downhill, the two old friends finally reached the shore of the once still, now violent lake, only to have an incredulous scene unfold before their eyes.

Two massive titans stood in the lake, facing each other with a primal rage that had been boiling for centuries. These prehistoric beasts knew only one thing: Instinct, and their instincts told them to kill each other. One stood knee deep in the large volumed lake, towering over the large colonial properties that sat by the shore, surrounding it. His hunched upright posture gave him a menacing appearance, as well as his massive claws that protruded from his thick hands, and his gaping maw that contained a set of serrated teeth which leaked magma that dropped down onto the lake and created a steam which wound around the large beast by the violent winds, obscuring his full fearsome form.

The other floated opposite of the first beast, partially submerged in water. Even then, the visible part of the beast towered over the colonial properties like his counter part. Large waves erupted from his sides as he lifted his gargantuan fins, their ability to capsize a boat fully evident just by their aforementioned qualities.

"I-It's Groudon and Kyogre" Juan stammered, not wanting to believe his eyes.

"Why are they here, why now?" Jonathan asked, still in disbelief.

Juan stood silent for a moment, taking the two beast's towering sizes fully before opening his mouth. "T-The eruption, I think it may have awoken Groudon, which in turn awoke Kyogre" he turned toward Jonathan slowly and wide eyed "they are said to have formed the land and the sea, but their constant fighting threatened to destroy all of Hoenn..."

Jonathan now understood the seriousness of the situation, and the threat these two beasts stood to not only Sootopolis, but to Hoenn as a whole. "Well they certainly aren't creating any fucking land or water...My god...what stopped them?"

"I-I can't quite remember, I think he was called the sky serp-"

Before Juan could finish, Kyogre gave a loud primeval war-roar that paralyzed Jonathan and Juan in place, and then slapped his large back fins (previously submerged underwater) onto the surface of the lake, sending massive waves that slammed onto the shore and several houses, easily breaking them apart. The force of the movement sent the massive marine beast skidding across the violent waves toward the terrestrial titan standing opposite of him. Unmoved by Kyogre's action, Groudon let out his own savage war-roar and bit down onto the sea titan's massive fin just as he got close. With the fin secured tightly in his mouth, Groudon raised his claws, and then began to ravage Kyogre's back with them, each slash creating a forceful shockwave that pulsated throughout the city, and sent Jonathan and Juan to the ground.

Just as Jonathan and Juan regained their nerves and slowly got back up, Kyogre arched his body and snapped upward, breaking away from Groudon's bite. He fell back into the water, creating a massive _splash_ as he landed, raining down thick drops that pelted Groudon who groaned in pain as each football sized droplet hit his rock-hide skin. The two then moved away from each other, Groudon stepping a few paces back while Kyogre drifted to the opposite end, the whole time their eyes locked and filled with hate.

As Jonathan and Juan looked in horror, the lake lit up as Groudon's mouth illuminated with light, until finally, a bright concentrated Hyper Beam escaped his mouth, tearing through the wind and ash straight toward Kyogre. Kyogre surprisingly swift, submerged his entire self underwater allowing the Hyper Beam to pass over him straight toward one of the rock walls of the city.

The Hyper Beam's concentrated energy burst as it his, creating a small shock wave and pelting the surrounding houses with fragments of rock, and globs of heated energy. The globs hit a particular house, igniting the old wood and engulfing it in flames.

This time, Jonathan and Juan were not paralyzed by the initial shock waves. Jonathan immediately sprang up. "Oh no, oh god no. They set fire to those fucking houses! Shit, w-we gotta go help them" he cried as he sprang into action and made his way toward the inferno, with Juan following close behind, leaving the two beasts to rampage and destroy behind them.

As Jonathan and Juan neared the inferno, the flames casted an eerily energetic light that made the two elite trainer's shadows dance feverishly. It looked almost as if the Grim Reaper was behind the both of them, eager for something he knew was about to unfold.

Juan reached toward his belt and unclipped two pokeballs. He threw them into the air, and they both opened up sending a red swirl of energy streaming toward the ground. The energy then composed itself into two regal marine pokemon. The first one was serpentine, whose body was mostly tan except for the end of her tail and head. Her head had a red growth that resembled hair. It flowed down her smooth body and touched the ground gently. The end of her tail had a beautiful red and blue pattern on it, complete with red and blue plumes on the end.

The other pokemon was a large and resembled a seahorse. This pokemon had a large light blue body layered with thick muscles underneath. The only part that wasn't light blue was his plated abdomen that acted like a shield to protect the organs underneath.

"Kingdra Milotic, use Hydro Pump on those flames!" Juan yelled so his pokemon could hear him over the howling winds. The two pokemon nodded, and expertly shot two huge pressurized blasts of cold water directly on the fire, despite the concealing ash. As the pokemon tried their best to put out the flames, a shrill feminine voice screamed from inside the house.

"HELP I'M TRAPPED!"

Jonathan's heart dropped. Someone was in the house. "I'm going in!" Jonathan yelled to Juan, as he unclipped the only pokeball he had on his belt and pressed the button on the center of the red and white sphere. The ball opened, letting a swirl of energy escape, that composed itself into a tall thin humanoid pokemon with a white gown-like growth that swept over her thin legs, and a green growth on her head that resembled short kept hair. The pokemon kept her arms to her side, dignified and poised, until she saw the chaos surrounding her. Then she gasped and turned toward Jonathan.

"Gardevoir?" _"My god, what's going on? Everything seems so chaotic."_

"Sorry Gardevoir there's no time to explain, someone in there needs our help!"

Gardevoir nodded. Jonathan then ran over to the burning house's doorframe (the door had been burnt to a crisp allowing it to simply fall off its hinges) with Gardevoir following close behind.

"Hey!" Juan called out just before Jonathan and Gardevoir could enter the inferno. Jonathan turned back to Juan, still covering his face with his hand to protect himself from the heat. "What?"

"Please be careful you two" Juan said.

"We will" Jonathan said as he turned back toward the house, and entered the raging fire-stricken home with his loyal friend following close behind.

* * *

Once inside, Jonathan and Gardevoir were immediately hit with the intense heat that came from being in close contact with the flames. In fact, it was so hot they had to instantly close their eyes when the got in, and slowly open them asto get them accustomed to the new temperature. Once their eyes were fully open, they could see the condition the house was in. Flames raged on the ceiling and walls, burning of wallpaper, and leaving singe marks everywhere. Furniture was flung about (most likely from the shockwaves that came from Groudon and Kyogre's attacks), making walking somewhat difficult.

"Come on Gardevoir" Jonathan said as he carefully made his way across the devastated living room (despite his body telling him to move quicker) toward a flight of stairs "I know the voice came from somewhere upstairs!"

As Gardevoir followed Jonathan, she stepped on something that didn't feel like wood. She looked down, and gasped at what she was. Sprawled out on the ground was a female (it looked like a female) body burnt to a crisp. It appeared Gardevoir had stepped on the hand.

"Gardevoir" she muttered as she continued to follow Jonathan. _"She certainly isn't the one that called for help..."_

Jonathan started to make his way up the stairs, the smell of smoke filling his lungs more and more.

_"Oh god, this smell is strong, it's fucking with my head."_

Indeed so, because as he thought this, he didn't even hear he loud cracking noise above him. As he was lost in thought, the crack became a tear, and a wooden beam barreled down toward him, finally getting his attention.

_"Oh shit, this is the end!"_

He closed his eyes, and placed his arms above him to protect his face and brace for impact.

...

...

...

Nothing.

Jonathan opened his eyes, only to see that hovering above him in a mystical aura was the wooden beam. He turned around and saw Gardevoir with her eyes closed and arm held out pointing toward the beam. Then, she slowly moved her arm, bringing with her the beam, and flung it over the side of the stairs with her mind.

Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief and turned toward Gardevoir. "Thank you, I don't know what I'd do without you."

Gardevoir smiled, and the two once again made their way up the stairs. Once they got to the top, they reached a long hall with three doors, one on the left and right, and one a the far end. When there was no fire, this hall was nothing more than a minor inconvenience, not even a strain on the legs. Right now though, a hall like this was almost impassable. Flames sprouted from the side walls and ceiling, cloaking the entire hall in a thick black smoke.

"HELP!"

The voice came once again, this time Jonathan was able to pin-point it. It came from the room at the far end.

_"Shit, she's all the way back there. Grrrr, it doesn't matter, she needs my help so I must go!"_

Jonathan gritted his teeth and tensed his muscles. He then ran into the haze, his drive propelling him forward...but not too far. As he entered the thick smokescreen, it entered his lungs, overwhelming him until he fell to the floor in a fit of coughing. The more he coughed, the more smoke got inside his body, slowly smothering him...

But suddenly he stopped coughing, and smoke ceased to enter his lungs. He opened his eyes and looked up. Once again he was greeted by Gardevoir's smiling face looking down on him. What she had done was used Safeguard on Jonathan and herself to cloak them in a semi-transparent barrier that would protect them from the smoke and fire.

"Thanks again Gardevoir, now I owe you two times" Jonathan said as Gardevoir helped him onto his feet.

"Gardevoir" she said shaking her head. _"No, you don't owe me anything. You've saved my life many times before. Besides, you are my trainer and friend. You're well being is my well being."_

Jonathan smiled at her, and then turned his attention back towards the door. "Come on, we've got someone to save!"

"Gardevoir" _"You're right, let's get moving."_

The partners ran towards the end of the hall, unharmed by the smoke and fire, and reached the door. "Hey can you hear me!" Jonathan shouted as he placed his face near the door so whoever was inside could hear him.

"Yes, I can!" came the voice of a young girl from the other side of the door "there's fire all around! I-I'm sitting in the center, a-and I want my mommy!"

"Look I'll find your mommy!" Jonathan yelled, making Gardevoir cringe because she knew the mothers fate "but first we got to get you outta there, is there something you could wrap around yourself like a blanket?"

"I already have one on!" the little girl cried between sobs. The girls pained voice made Jonathan grit his teeth, no child should have to go through trauma like this, he knew from experience what things like this could do to children.

"Alright, now what I want you to do sweetie is keep it tight around your body. Cover everything, especially your face okay, can you do that for me?"

"Yes!" came the frightened reply.

Jonathan took a deep breath and tensed the muscles in his right leg. "Are you ready?!"

"Yes!"

_**BAM**_

Jonathan kicked the door in, causing a back draft of fire to burst toward them. If it had not been for Gardevoir's Safeguard, the two would've been burnt to a crisp. Jonathan stepped inside and saw a little girl sitting with her arms around her legs with a blanket draped over her.

"Little girl come over here" Jonathan beckoned, trying to keep his voice calm and sweet, despite his shaken mind and the adrenaline coursing through his veins preventing him from doing so effectively (in fact, the voice he was trying to make conflicted with what he was feeling so much that he ended up sounding like a mad man trying to comfort his victim with a false sense of security).

"But I'm scared!" the girl cried.

"Don't be" Jonathan replied "me and Gardevoir will protect you, we promise." Jonathan nudged Gardevoir. She knew he wanted her to help him calm the child, so Gardevoir did just that. She smiled sweetly and gestured for the little girl to come over.

Seeing an elegant pokemon call to her rather than a six foot four man who looked like the devil put the child at ease. Using all the courage and strength she could muster, the little girl ran over to Gardevoir, burying herself in her arms. Gardevoir smiled and tapped the girl on the head, encompassing her in the Safeguard.

"You sure have a way with kids" Jonathan muttered as he scratched the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed that the girl did not come to him. Gardevoir just smiled and wrapped one arm around the girl gently, to make her feel secure.

"Alright, let's get out of here!"

* * *

**Back Outside with Juan...**

**_SPLASH_**

The rigorous jets of water from Milotic and Kingdra had just about extinguished most of the fire from the side of the house, and most of the roof. Despite their success, it was overshadowed almost completely by the trail of destruction left by the warring titans of the sea and terrestrial land. Juan looked beyond the almost extinguished house toward the city which was now engulfed in fire, the flames dancing to the screams and cries of the citizens caught in the devastation.

Juan cringed, here he was with his pokemon putting out one fire while the rest of the city was engulfed in a conflagration of epic proportions.

_"This is hopeless, the city is lost..."_

But just as he had given up hope, a thundering roar assailed the ear drums of the city. As he covered his ears with his hands, Juan looked up toward the dark cloudy ash obscured sky and saw a massive serpentine silhouette side-wind through the air. Juan stared in awe as the figure made his way toward the lake until it hovered right above Groudon and Kyogre. The figure's head suddenly began to illuminate, revealing a green draconic head with an open mouth as a ball of energy started to form inside. The ball grew in size until it reached the top and bottom of the dragon's mouth, and it was released. The Hyper Beam spread downwards, passing in between the two combatants and hitting the surface of the lake with a large shower of wster raining on the two titans. They stopped fighting and looked up toward the dragon. The dragon began to glide around them all, letting sharp pitched grunts and groans.

Suddenly, a cyclone of ash began to form around the three pokemon, staring of small and almost laughable until quickly expanding in size and eventually shrouding the three gargantuan pokemon. The cyclone spun and spun like a black circle **(Peal Jam reference!)** until the spinning slowly began to lessen, and the cyclone ceased to exist revealing an empty still lake. The tremors stopped, and the winds died down. All was calm save for the city still reeling from the battle.

Juan continued to stare at the sky, disoriented and in disbelief on how something can go from absolute chaos to total peace. After staring for a few more moments, he turned toward his pokemon. They looked over toward him with triumphant smiles on their faces. They had put out the fire.

Juan smiled, but that quickly faded when he realized Jonathan, Gardevoir, and however was trapped in there had still not come out.

_"Oh no, please tell me they're okay..."_

"Good job" Juan hastily told his pokemon as he recalled them, and made his way toward the entrance of the house.

* * *

**Few Minutes ago, Back with Jonathan, Gardevoir, and the little girl...**

"Come on let's hurry!" Jonathan said as he dashed down the stairs, eager to leave the house, so eager that he didn't think to help Gardevoir walk the young child down the stairs, creating a gap between the two parties.

As Jonathan reached the end of the stairs, he noticed there weren't as much flames anymore.

_"Huh, guess Juan and his pokemon are succeeding in extinguishing the-what the?"_

As Jonathan thought this, he felt he had stepped on something. He looked down and saw a human hand burnt to a crisp. Attached to the hand was a body, who he figured was the little girl's mother.

As he looked on in shock, trying to figure out what to say to the little girl when she came down, he didn't even notice she had already come down with Gardevoir. As the little girl came down, she spotted her burnt mother.

"M-Mommy..."

Jonathan looked toward the girl, who had a lone tear streaming down her eye. Jonathan was so caught up in the sadness that he didn't hear a cracking noise up above on the ceiling. Gardevoir did, and released her Safeguard to use Psychic for another wooden beam that was too barrel down onto Jonathan's head. This time however, the noise did not come from the space above Jonathan.

Without warning, the beam gave way and barreled down.

"LOOK OUT GARDEVOIR!"

* * *

**Later the next morning...**

Juan stood in the center of what was once his gym. What was once a facility bustling with the energy of young trainers and their dreams of becoming pokemon masters was reduced to an empty charred shell with three walls, and a large gaping hole in the ceiling. A crisp breeze flowed in from the openings. Juan inhaled the pure air and exhaled, a weird present life had given the city after what transpired just last night. He sighed and walked past the charred interior of his former gym and out into the city.

Charred remains of rubble, and the lone frames of former homes greeted his eyes, not many structures remained intact. As he walked down the street, there was an unsettling calm, except for Sootopolis authorities handing out rations to the weeping survivors. No energy, just an eerie still.

_"This city was so lively, now look at it..."_

Juan walked past a camp of tents, housing saddened families. Their homes, jobs, entire livelihoods taken in the blink of an eye.

_"We are a city of community, a city of families. We didn't deserve this..."_

Juan walked past the remains of the city and toward the lake. Soon the cement street was replaced by a dirt path flanked by green blades of grass and forestry. It didn't take long for him to reach the damp shore of the lake. He looked on at the water. It refused to even stir.

_"Funny, the battle took place on the lake, and it's the most undamaged..."_

Juan looked to his right, and saw a lone figure sitting near the shore, his eyes fixed on the still water. Juan sighed and walked over toward the man. The closer he came, the more he could feel a pain in his heart. He was soon hovering over the large man's shoulder.

"Jonathan, I-I'm so sorr-"

"Don't" the man muttered coldly as he continued to stare at the lake, never breaking his gaze "just don't."

Juan opened his mouth, but knew there was nothing to say. He stood behind the broken champion for what seemed like an eternity until he finally brought himself to walk away.

Once Juan had left, the champion buried his face into his hands and wept softly.

**(A/N: Hello everyone, N-Badger97 speaking. I just want to inform you all that I'm editing all my chapters except the last four. So far, I have edited this chapter and the next two. The rest I am currently working on, so now you know why they are not on par with the first three (including this one) and the last four. Thank you for reading, and remember to review, favorite, and follow...if you want, you don't have to. I'm just glad you're all reading).**


	2. Welcome to Littleroot Town

** Welcome to Littleroot Town**

**27 years later...May 12th 2005**

_"Pour a little for me, and move on..."_

_..._

_..._

_..._

**_BAM_**

The mover's truck hit a bump in the road, causing fifteen year old May Maple Mendoza to hit the back of her head. "Ow" she muttered as she rubbed the area in question with her gloved hand. As she stared into the darkness, she realized she was _still_ in the back of the truck, surrounded by a small amount of boxes that carried the little possessions her family had.

_"Jeez, still in this damn truck? I thought we would've reached Littleroot by now."_

BAM

The truck hit another stop, causing May to hit her head once again. "Ahh damn, that one hurt" she groaned as she once again found herself rubbing the back of her now throbbing head.

_"Why the hell did I choose to ride in the back of the truck? I mean what could have possibly-"_

As she pondered this, she heard a rattling above her. She looked up to see the reason why she was riding in the truck. A box that sat on the top of a stack of three ready to fall over. May quickly pushed the box back into place, securing it from toppling over and releasing its contents all over the floor.

_"I almost forgot, someone has to keep the boxes from falling over..."_

May sighed, she was starting to regret her job as chief box protector, a title given to her by her parents. This temporary occupation would have been unnecessary if her parent paid for premium movers, but given their financial situation, they had to settle for discount movers they saw on Telemundo. Empresa de Mudanzas y Pedro y Pepe was the company's name, and this was their truck. May would have probably traveled with her parents, but they had to travel to their new home on a bus, a bus filled with people and their...pokemon. A chill traveled down May's back whenever she heard that word. They were the reason why May had so earnestly chosen to ride in the truck right after they got of the plane, going on the bus with all the pokemon would have caused her to have a freak out or something. She knew what they were capable of, she had witnessed it with her own eyes just a year ago. Since then she had stayed away from them at all costs. Still, traveling in the dark confined truck was not a pleasant experience (especially since she thought it would be quite embarrassing if the truck got pulled over and they found her in the back, considering she was a Mexican).

May sighed as boredom loomed over her head. For most of the ride, she killed time by sleeping, but then the road had become bumpy, waking her whenever a pot hole was hit. She would try to go back to sleep, just to be woken by another bump. This went in intervals until May lost track of the time she had spent confined to the truck, and finally gave up. Now the bumps weren't killing her, the boredom was.

She wrapped her arms around her legs and looked over her attire in a futile attempt to pass the time. She wore a sleeveless red shirt with a thin white stripe going down the middle that accented her curvy hourglass figure and considerably large bosom that her parent's good genes had blessed her with. Tight black biker shorts rested on her lower body that showed off her brown toned legs, evidence of her travels around her old city. On her feet were a pair of black shoes, and black socks that rose just below her knees. On her head was a plain green bandanna that complemented her cute, delicate face nicely. While it did not look like much, it meant a great deal to May. She untied it, to let her silky brown hair fall onto her shoulders, and gave it good long stare.

The bandanna had been given to her by an old friend back in her old home. Even though they were not related, May had considered him a brother. He was older than her, and taught her a great deal of things. He taught her how to fight, the slang of the streets, and most importantly to never ever give up. The bandanna was a symbol of their friendship, tested on the mean streets of South Goldenrod, but he was gone now. Now all she had was his bandanna, and a few keepsakes of his, but the bandanna was the most important to her. It sat atop her head, a little piece of Goldenrod, a constant reminder of the good times, and the bad times.

After staring at the bandanna long enough, she placed it on her knees to fix her hair until it was kept to her standards, and then tied it back onto her head. Now that she had looked at her attire, she had become bored once more.

_"We still haven't arrived...'Sigh'... what can I do to pass the time?"_

May looked at the boxes surrounding her. She decided to play a game of count the boxes.

_"One...two...three...four...ahh this isn't working...Why the hell would I think it would work anyway? Counting fucking boxes, really?"_ May shook her head _ "there must be some other way to make time go by faster"_

May once again wrapped her arms around her legs, and rested her chin onto her bent knees. She began to ponder how she ended up coming to Littleroot Town in the first place...

* * *

**May 5th, One Week Ago...**

The Johto sun shined high above, basking poverty stricken South Goldenrod. The light made everything visible, the palm trees lining the cracked and weathered sidewalks, the refuse littering the streets, the graffiti on the walls, and finally a bus coming to a stop on the corner of the street. Out of the bus's doors came a man wearing an oil covered jump suit. He was tall (6'0), pale of skin, had green eyes, dark hair, and a relieved smile plaster across his face. He dashed down the street, passing by all the rental homes in his neighborhood, past the cholos working on the engine of their Impala. They waved to him since they all lived on the same street, they saw him as one of their own and acted friendly towards him and his family. He smiled and waved back, continuing to dash his way home.

_"I did it, I passed the test!"_

This happy man was named Norman, May's father. Normally, heading to his home didn't warrant any smiles. It wasn't because his family was dysfunctional, it was quite the opposite in fact, they were extremely close knit and happy. The reason going home didn't warrant any smiles from him was because it reminded him of his failures. He believed his family didn't deserve to live in a small three room rental home. They worked hard and did their best to try to move up in life, but bills just kept piling on. He felt guilty for not being able to buy the things he felt his wife and daughter deserved. If he had only spent more time studying, he might have been in a better situation (after all, he was quite bright), but he was rebellious as a young man and didn't think of the future. Now he and his family were stuck in the worst area in the whole Johto Region, without a means of escape.

Until now.

You see, Norman wasn't one to just accept a situation, he was driven to find a way to get out of it. Three years ago, after a visit to a close friends house, he learned he had a knack for battling. With this newfound talent, he began to search for ways to use it as a way to escape South Goldenrod. Luckily, he stumbled upon the gym leader profession, he was ecstatic, but there was a catch. To become a gym leader, one had to pass an extremely difficult test that consisted of battling theory, and actual hands-on matches. Norman, being his usual 'jump into things without practice' self, immediately took the test...and failed.

Not to be discouraged, Norman would go to his friends house every day after his job as a mechanic to train and hone his skills. He couldn't train at home because his wife Caroline did not approve of him training in the house because it would spark envy in their daughter who so desperately wanted a pokemon, but could not afford one...well, that was the problem at first. About a year ago, his daughter suffered through an extremely traumatic experience that left her deftly afraid of pokemon. It did make him reconsider becoming a gym leader at first, but the promise of making enough money to move to a better city was to enticing, besides she didn't have to go to work with him, and he didn't have to train when she was around. Of course, this dream of moving would only happen if he passed the test, which he failed a total of four times.

But today was the fifth time he took the test, and he passed.

After running for so long, he finally reached his families small rental home. He walked passed the little flower pots up against the house that his wife had set up to give the dull home a little sense of energy. His poor wife, for fifteen years she had been confined in the three room home, occupied by daily chores and keeping healthy and fit to look pretty for herself and her husband. Norman always felt bad when he saw those marigolds and roses, he knew his beautiful wife deserved better, and he berated himself for not being able to give her more, but now that wasn't going to be an issue.

Norman chuckled to himself, giddy with excitement for his families new life, and burst through the door. He found himself inside the living room/Kitchen. The only inhabitants on the living room half were a small boxy T.V set on a wooden table, a shelf with a few decorative statues (sold a dime a dozen at the local Swap Meet), and a sofa which acted as his daughter's bed. Beyond all this on the Kitchen half stood his brown skinned wife Caroline (or Carolina as the locals called her), her attention set on preparing a small chocolate cake for their daughter May, it was her birthday after all, and you only turn fifteen once. The sight of Caroline preparing the yearly cake was another constant reminder of his failures, since this was the only thing May would get on her day of birth. Even then, his daughter never complained, she was grateful just to have a family that loved her, but now that Norman goy a good job, she would be getting more than just cake in her coming birthdays.

As Norman stood staring at his wife and the cake, Caroline finally noticed he had come in and looked up. "Oh hello hon, didn't hear you come in."

"Really?" Norman said with amazement in his voice "I practically slammed through the door honey, what've a burglar had come in? He would've had a field day, and you wouldn't have a damn clue."

Caroline was silent for a moment, and then spoke "Honey don't slam the door, the vibrations will knock over the statues." She had clearly spaced out after Norman said he practically slammed through the door.

Norman chuckled at his wife's unintentional humor and walked over give her a quick peck on the cheek. She returned the gesture, except her target was his mouth. "So honey, how was your day?" Caroline asked, flashing him a warm smile.

"Oh you wouldn't believe it honey" Norman replied, trying his best to keep himself composed and not bursting the good news out of his mouth like confetti out of a confetti canon.

"What is it?" Caroline asked curiously, easily sensing her husband was trying to withhold information from her. Norman slowly grew a big proud smile "I finally did it babe, I passed the test!"

Caroline's eyes beamed and her face lit up "You- Oh I knew you could do it!" she proclaimed as she wrapped her arms around his muscular body "congratulations hon!"

Norman laughed a joyous laugh and lifted his petite five foot five wife into the air and spun her about in his arms "can you believe it babe, you're married to a gym leader now!"

Caroline giggled as her big powerful gym leader husband held her in his arms "and a strong and handsome one at that!"

Norman chuckled once more and placed his wife down "our troubles are over, no more shaking when the damn mail comes. I can finally give the bird to bills, my boss, that prick David...ahhh, security is a fine feeling isn't it?"

"It sure is honey!" Caroline replied, stoking his chest affectionately.

"Oh and I can't wait to tell May!" Norman exclaimed

"I'm sure she'll be proud" Caroline replied "she may be a little anxious about your profession being involved with pokemon and all, but we'll assure her she doesn't have to be around them."

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll be fine _'sigh'_ I just wish she could get over her fear..."

"I know honey, but our little May went through a lot. It will be up to her to find her own way" Caroline replied "the only thing we could do right now is be there for her."

"You're right..." Norman said with a hint of sadness in his voice, he truly felt bad for his poor daughter. He remembered how she once was obsessed with getting a pokemon to travel throughout Johto on her own journey so she could experience the world for what it really was, not just the monotonous existence that came with life in the ghetto for a pretty teenage girl. She had even gone as far as to find work to save enough money to buy one of the Johto starters until the incident occurred. Now she wouldn't even go near the creatures. Although she didn't show it much, they both knew she was troubled. Norman hoped the next piece of news he was about to tell his wife would also help May get over her fear. "...but maybe a change of scenery will help her get past her troubles..."

"Change of scenery?" Caroline asked "what do you mean, we're moving?"

Norman nodded, and Caroline gasped "where? Olivine City, Azalea City, Cianwood City?"

"No" Norman replied "we're not moving to a city here, we're moving to another region!"

"Another region!" Caroline cried enthusiastically "oh my, which one?!"

"Hoenn" Norman said bluntly "we're moving to Littleroot Town in Hoenn!"

"Hoenn!" Caroline said, reciting Norman's words "we're moving to Hoenn! Oh honey, this is a dream come true!" After her sudden burst of joy, she collected herself and turned back toward Norman "so your gym is going to be in this...Littleroot you called it."

"No" Norman said as he shook his head once again "my gym is going to be in Petalburg City, it's close to Littleroot though, bout a 30 minute walk everyday. Good for the calves."

"Littleroot..." Caroline muttered with a smile on her face, but her smile quickly faded and a worried expression formed on her face "wait, what about May?"

"What about her?" Norman asked.

"Well..." Caroline started "this Littleroot Town sounds awfully small, and you know May won't be able to travel around Hoenn on account of her fear. Don't you think she'll get bored over there?"

"Not to worry" Norman reassured her "I think the new setting will be enticing for her. Also, Littleroot Town is where the Birchs live."

"Oh the Birchs" Caroline said happily as she clasped her hands together "we haven't seen them for so long, I can remember them living here like it was yesterday...it'll be nice to see Linda again."

"Yes it will, and I'm sure May will be happy to see them too, especially Brendan. You know how much they use to play together before they moved over to Hoenn, maybe the two could reconnect."

"That would be good" Caroline said as she nodded her head in agreement "it will be healthy for her to interact with an old friend,since She hasn't been very social after..."

"That" Norman said, finishing Caroline's sentence.

"Yes...that..." Caroline muttered "the source of her problems..."

"But hopefully this new home and the friendly atmosphere will help her cope and eventually overcome" Norman said as he looked down at the cake "but for now, let's get this cake set up for her."

"Sounds like a plan" Caroline replied as the two started to bustle around the kitchen to get May's cake ready.

* * *

**Streets of South Goldenrod...**

A lone figure walked along the cracked South Goldenrod sidewalk as she made her way home from school. Her stride was not too fast, or too slow. She was relatively indifferent to everything around her, despite it being her 'special' day. She didn't care much for it, after all it was only a reminder that she was getting older. She would rather not have this hanging over her head because it just reminded her of how long she had been confined in the city, so long that she had a mental map of every street and alley. This day was so insignificant to her that she didn't even bother to dress in a special way, she just wore her regular street clothes: A tight dark green flannel shirt with rolled up sleeves, regular blue jeans, black sneakers, and a green bandanna wrapped around her neck.

Of course others saw this as a very special day for May, which was evident by all the compliments and cries of "Happy Birthday" from acquaintances and admirers at school and the various denizens of the community. Even though May was not close with anybody other than her family (after a certain traumatizing incident), she was polite and respectful which made people around her take a liking to her. Even the local cholos had a soft spot for May on account of knowing about the incident, and her reputation as a skilled fighter. As she neared home, the cholos spotted her and stopped her before she could go any further.

"Hey heina, Feliz Cumpleanos!" the cholo with the hairnet said as he patted her on the back. Another one wearing a wife-beater came to her side and nudged her arm with his elbow "damn Mayo, you getting older aren't you, what are you fifteen now?"

"Yeah That's right" May replied as she nodded her head.

"You see, we remembered" the cholo with the hairnet said as he moved his arm away from May and looked over toward the cholo with the wife-beater. The wife-beater cholo nodded, and pulled out a wad of cash. "Here's your present esa, a gift from all of us."

"Hey thanks!" May said with a smile as the cholo handed her the cash "you guys didn't have to do that."

"Hey, la rasa sticks together you know" the cholo with the hairnet said "we take care of our set."

"Serio" the other said as they patted May off, and went back to working on their Impala. May waved to them one last time, and continued on her way home. She soon arrived, and walked up to the front door. She reached into her pocket to pull out her keys. The placed it inside the door knob and turned.

Click

May opened the door and stepped inside her dark home. As she hunched to place her backpack on the floor, she noticed it was unusually quiet. She would normally be greeted by the sound of her mom cooking or washing dishes.

_"Weird, mom is usually home at this time."_

As May tried to figure out the whereabouts of her mother, she flipped on the light switch.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

"AHHHH!" May shrieked as she planted herself against the wall, a natural reaction to a sudden loud noise. As she caught her breath, she looked toward the origin of the noise and saw the grinning forms of her mother and father. "You scared me half to death" May panted as she placed her hand over her busty chest, rising and falling as her lungs took in oxygen.

"Oops sorry honey" Caroline giggled with her hand placed lightly over her mouth.

"Yeah our bad" Norman added "we thought we would add something new for your special day."

"That certainly was something new" May chuckled in between pants "jeez I think you scared a few years off of me, consider me ten now."

"Well miss ten year old scaredy-cat, would you like to come into the kitchen to have some cake?" Caroline asked.

"That sounds like a fine idea cause you know me, I have an insatiable sweet tooth."

"You got that from me" Norman said as he ruffled May's silk-like hair "and I'm dying to have some cake too."

"Well come on then" Caroline (who was now in the kitchen) told the both of them. May and Norman did as Caroline told them and walked into the kitchen. They sat down around the table as Caroline cut everybody a slice. Once that was over and done with, Caroline sat down and the whole family began to eat.

"Hey mom, do we have any milk?" May asked. Caroline shook her head "no, the corner market ran out. They said something about a pokemon activist group called Team Plasma hijacking Miltanks and Tarouses from the farms over in Unova, so there's been a shortage of dairy and beef products."

"Oh" May muttered as she got up from her chair and walked over to pull out a drinking glass from the cupboard "Well I need something to go with the cake". She then walked over toward the faucet and turned it on, filling the glass with tap water. "Nothing goes better with chocolate then tap water! Hey, do you two want some?" May asked her parents.

"No thanks dear" Norman said as he wolfed down his cake "I'm too busy with this cake."

"I'm fine too hon" Caroline replied "come back and have the rest of your cake."

May nodded and sat back down to continue eating her cake, occasionally taking sips from her drinking glass. "Uhh just a quick question, how did you make this cake without milk?"

"We used water hon" Caroline answered matter-of-factly.

May looked down at her water made cake and shrugged.

_"No complaints here, it still tastes good."_

As May continued to eat her cake, she couldn't help but notice her dad. As he ate, she could see him fidgeting with his hands and thumping his leg excitedly on the floor. Another dead giveaway was the weird facial expressions he made when he was trying to conceal his emotions. After staring at her father, May decided to prod for some answers.

"So dad, how was your day?"

As soon as May said this, Caroline looked over toward Norman with a grin on her face. Norman looked back at her with a grin. He was definitely hiding something.

"My day was fine honey, thanks for asking" Norman said with a quivering voice. May was now certain he was holding back something, so she decided to continue with the questioning.

"Anything special happen?"

"Ummm maybe, say honey, can I ask YOU a question?" Norman replied. May put her fork down and nodded "sure dad, what do you want to know?"

Norman placed his fork down, and made eye contact with May. "What's your opinion on us moving out of here?"

May gasped, did she hear him right, how could they move with the little money they had?

"I'm sorry dad, I think I misheard you. Did you say move out of here?"

Norman nodded his head.

A smile formed across May's face "oh my, y-you're serious aren't you. B-But what about the money-"

"Money isn't a problem anymore" Norman interrupted "I got a job as a gym leader!"

May became ecstatic. "Congratulations daddy!" she exclaimed as she got up from her chair to give him a big hug, she knew he had his heart set on becoming one, and he finally did it. "Oh dad, I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks dear" Norman said warmly as he hugged her back. The two then broke away from their embrace, and May became serious and somewhat anxious. "I won't have to be near the...you know...pokemon right?"

"Of course not dear" Norman reassured her "I'll be the one with the pokemon, they won't even be near you. I'll keep them in the gym okay."

May breathed a sigh of relief "thanks dad, so where's your gym located?"

Norman rubbed his hands together and cleared his throat "okay get ready for this, my new gym, _and_ our new home is located in-"

"HOENN!" Caroline proclaimed, not able to contain herself. Norman looked at her, then back at May "yes, we're moving to Hoenn."

* * *

**Present Day**

_"Hoenn, a fresh start...a place where I can learn to forget..."_

As May looked back on the day she first learned she was moving to Hoenn, she didn't even hear the moving truck's speed slowly decrease, eventually coming to a stop. While May was lost in thought, the back of the truck swung open, bringing the young Latina back to reality. She looked toward the figure that had opened the back of the truck. Although the sun beating down from behind had partially casted the figure in a silhouette, May could see the outline of an orange dress.

"Hi honey, welcome to Littleroot Town!"

May jumped out of the truck, delighted to see a familiar face after the long seemingly endless time she had spent in the darkness of the truck. "Hi mom!" May exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around her beautiful mother.

Caroline returned the gesture. "Oh I'm so glad to see you honey!"

Mother and daughter stood locked in a heart warming embrace for a moment, and then released each other.

"So May what do you think?" Caroline asked enthusiastically as she turned toward the town. May looked over at the town and smiled. Before her eyes was a small community of residential colonial homes lined along kept dirt roads that connected the god-blessed town together. Adding to the community's small town beauty was the glistening Evergreens surrounding the town standing healthy and tall like natural watchmen standing guard to keep the peace. This place was truly beautiful, and much different than South Goldenrod. No graffiti, no gangsters, and no ghetto bird flying around the sky, just the sense of peace that came with a community full of happy people living in harmony with the natural world around them. That's what gave Littleroot it's unique feel, knowing that families lived here without a care in the world, each day another moment of peaceful bliss, being able to truly appreciate the wind that grazed your skin and sent your nerves on a roller coaster of pleasure, the sun beating down on your skin and filling you with energy, all these fleeting experiences were magnified here in Littleroot.

"It's beautiful" May said, not able to say anything else, and nothing else could be said. The perfect statement for an astounded mind in a state of rapture. However, this joyous moment was interrupted as the mover's pokemon exited the truck and walked toward May and her mom. May looked in horror as the large muscular pokemon with gray skin neared closer and closer.

"Ma-choke, Ma-choke."

"Gah!" May gasped as she hid behind her mother trembling. Caroline rubbed May's hand which was rested on her shoulder to comfort her. "Don't worry honey, they're just the mover's pokemon. Not all pokemon are bad."

"Y-You don't know them like I do" May said with a fearful quivering voice "they can turn on you like THAT!" she snapped her fingers to emphasize her point.

Caroline let out a soft sigh and continued to rub her daughters hand. She had just arrived in Hoenn, and already she had been reminded of the incident she had so desperately hoped to forget. After about seven minutes of silence, the mover's pokemon had unloaded all of the Maple's belongings, and had went back into the truck to be driven off. Once they were gone, May stepped out from behind her mother and wiped the beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead.

"Are you okay honey?" Caroline asked with a concerned voice as she rubbed her daughters back comfortingly. May nodded her head "yeah, they're gone now."

"Good" Caroline replied warmly as she let go of May "since the movers have unpacked everything, why don't you come see the house."

May looked behind her mother, and her mouth dropped in awe. Standing behind Caroline was a large two story house, eerily identical to the other homes in Littleroot, but nevertheless still special because it was her new home, and a big one at that. "Wow, it's huge..." May mumbled as she continued to stare at the large house, almost unreal to her since all she ever knew was the small three room rental home she lived in back in Goldenrod.

"And the interior is even better" Caroline added as she walked over to the front door and opened it for May. May walked in, and once again her mouth dropped in awe. Caroline was right, the interior was better, in fact it was huge.

"This is the living room" Caroline informed May. which in turn made May's mouth drop lower. This was the living room?! It was probably bigger than more than half of her old house as a whole!

_"And this is only the first floor!"_

"Pretty big huh" Caroline chuckled, and then pointed toward a door on the far left side of the living room "in there's the kitchen, and it is pretty big as well."

"I believe you" May replied as she looked at the spacious room. She still couldn't believe how big it was. Maybe it was because all of their stiff wasn't set up yet. May closed her eyes and tried to picture the furniture set up in the living room.

_"...Nope, still very big. God damn..."_

"May, why don't you go check out your _new room!_" Caroline emphasized _room _because she new this would make May ecstatic since she never had a room to call her own. Caroline's prediction was correct, because once she said this, May's sapphire eyes beamed and her whole body surged with energy.

"My own room!" May exclaimed with the excitement of a person who was denied access to genuine privacy for most of their life, but could now finally have the ability to close a door and be left alone with their thoughts and dreams "never thought I would hear that in my life. Hehe, in fact the reason I got so stoked on the living room was because I thought I was going to sleep here, but...I'm getting my own room! Where is it by the way?"

"It's just up the stairs" Caroline informed her "it's the door on the left."

"Okay, thanks mom!" May said as she raced up the stairs, leaving behind a smiling Caroline to begin taking the family's belongings out of their boxes. May soon reached the top of the stairs and was faced with a long hallway that contained two doors, one on the right, and one on the left. May followed her mother's instructions, and burst through the one on the left.

Before her eyes was a large room bathed in sunlight from the rays streaming from the large square windows on the left wall of the room. Inside of the room was a desk where she could place her computer (the only electronic product she had), a chair next to the desk, her very own closet "No more sharing with mom and dad", and a large bed with a white mattress. May squealed with delight as soon as she saw the mattress. She ran over toward it and removed a box filled with her possessions off of it, and threw herself on the comfy bed.

_"My own bed! No more back pains from sleeping on the old lumpy couch."_

May sighed and let herself sink deeper into the plushy bed, letting it envelope her in its warm soft embrace. Her eyes slowly started to flutter close as the sandman started to creep up on her.

_"'Yawn', oh my, this is much more comfortable than I thought. It's putting me to sleep!..Didn't get much sleep in the truck, damn bumps kept waking me up..."_

...

...

...

"MAY COME DOWN HERE QUICK!"

Caroline's shouting instantly shot into May's ears, immediately ceasing the sandman's advance and sending the young Latina teen sitting upright with her eyes wide open.

"Coming!" May shouted back as she got off the bed and raced back down the stairs.

"Oh you just missed it..." Caroline said sadly as she looked away from the now set up T.V, and trained her eyes on May "your dad was on the news at his new gym..."

"Oh..." May said glumly as she looked over at the T.V which was now showing images of an M1 Abrams tank firing at an unknown target in a desert community setting. "What did they say?"

"They just asked about the type of pokemon his gym would specialize in" Caroline replied as May cringed at the word 'Pokemon'.

"So honey, how'd you like your new room?"

May immediately shifted her thoughts away from pokemon, to the more pleasant topic of her new room. "Oh I love it!" she exclaimed "it's so pretty and big, a-and it's mine!"

"I'm glad you like it dear" Caroline said as looked on at her happy daughter, now firmly in belief that living here would help May cope with the previous tragedy she left in Goldenrod. As she this ran through her mind, Caroline that back to Norman telling her about the Birchs living in Littleroot as well.

"...May, why don't you go explore the town a bit. You know, get use to the new area, but before that I want you to meet the neighbors. They're old family friends."

"Really?" May asked intrigued. She couldn't recall any other family friends other then her old friend back in Goldenrod. "Yes" Caroline said as she nodded her head "they're the Birchs. They use to live in the house in front of us for a short time while mister...well I should say Prof. Birch was getting his degree on pokemon behavioral studies."

May gave Caroline a puzzled look.

"You really don't remember?"

May shook her head.

"But you use to play with their kid all the time!" Caroline exclaimed "you two were inseparable!"

"Sorry mom, I just don't remember" May replied, trying her best to think of her childhood days. Nonetheless it was to no avail.

"Oh well" Caroline replied "I guess it's understandable. You both were about four or five when you last saw each other. Hey maybe you two could catch up you know, become friends again."

"Sure" May said "that doesn't sound like a bad idea, might get a little boring here by myself."

"Well go on honey" Caroline said, playfully shooing her away "tengo trabajo que hacer aqui!"

"Si mama" May chuckled as she walked over toward the door "hasta luego!"

"Hasta luego!" Caroline waved as May walked out of the house. Caroline continued to look on at the door where May previously stood, her smile slowly fading. She sighed and sat on the couch for a moment deep in thought.

_"My poor baby, I know she tries to hide it, but she's a troubled girl. I'm glad the new home has brought her some delight, but I can't help but feel she's still hanging on to all that negativity that came from that damn incident. 'Sigh' hopefully with time, her wounds will heal and we'll have our old May back..."_

Caroline sighed once more and sat up. She walked up to one of the boxes sitting on the floor of the living room and opened it.

Inside were various photos of the family. Caroline began to shift through them. Most were pictures of her, Norman, and May at different family outings, each one with them smiling and happy. Caroline smiled as she shifted through more and more until she came across a rather unique one. This one showed a thirteen tear old May standing next to a muscular full bearded eighteen year old boy with boxing gloved around his neck. May had a huge smile on her face as the boy held her shoulders in a brotherly way. Caroline took a good long look at the picture until she dropped it back into the box and closed it.

* * *

As May stepped out of the house, a cool breeze blew making her silky brown hair flutter with it. She closed her eyes and savored the moment as the wind skimmed her forehead, as well as bringing along a group of dry leaves that rustled by her in a gentle chorus only nature could compose. Alas all good things had to come to an end. The wind ceased, and the musical leaves fell onto the ground without making a sound. May sighed and went on her way down the dirt path, to the next house over.

May reached the house and went down the flower decorated walkway until she reached the front door. She raised her fist and knocked on the door twice.

_Knock_

_Knock_

"Oh my a guest!" May heard someone faintly say from within the walls of the house. After a short moment, the door flung open, revealing a smiling dark haired woman in her thirties.

"Why hello there!" the woman said sweetly and enthusiastically as she wiped her wet hands on her white apron "how can I help you?"

"Uh hello" May greeted with a smile on her face, despite being somewhat startled by the woman's unexpected zest. "My name's May, I'm your new-"

"I knew I recognized you!" the woman suddenly proclaimed, causing May to jump at the sudden escalation in volume "May Maple Mendoza, I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Y-You haven't" May muttered, not knowing what else to say. "Awww, you don't remember me" the lady said as she tried to create a sad expression on her face, but her jovial disposition made it easy to see right through here "let me try and jog your memory. My name's Linda, I knew you and you're family when you were just a little girl!"

"Really" May said, once again unable to create a full sentence. Linda nodded "and what a cute thing you were...well I shouldn't say _were_, you still are!" the cheerful woman said as she smiled and gave May's cheeks a swift yet powerful pinch.

_"Ouch"_ May said inwardly as Linda let go of her cheeks and lead her inside the house. "I'm so glad to get to see you again, always such a polite little thing..."

"Thanks, it's certainly nice to meet you again" May said as she rubbed her stinging cheeks.

"Where are my manners!" Linda said suddenly as she slapped her hand onto her forehead "would you like something to drink? a snack maybe?"

"No thanks, my stomach's still a little battered from a cake I ate a week ago. It's really done a number on me." May said politely declining Linda's offer. "Oh don't be silly" Linda replied, dismissing May's comment "If you don't want to eat, just tell me. I just thought you would be hungry after such a _long _trip, but then I don't know what I was thinking. You're rarely ever hungry, I remember. You always had that large gas tank in you! Always running around, never getting tired. You would really give my son a workout at times...Oh oh I know, you should go say hi to my son Brendan!"

"Brendan?" May replied.

"Why of course!" Linda said "you two use to play all day long, hehehe, inseparable the both of you were! I remember when we left to move here, he cried because he wouldn't get to play with you again, but now you're here, and you two can be friends again! It's a good thing too, because there's nobody his age to hang out with. Sure he's gets along greatly with the local kids, but I think he would have more fun with someone his age, especially his old friend!"

"I think we both will" May replied "so where is he?"

"He's upstairs in his room" Linda replied as she grew silent, and looked into nothing. Reminiscing of older simpler days. May looked at Linda, then at the fleet of stairs leading to the second floor of the house.

_"Okay, time to meet this Brendan kid."_

May started up the stairs. As she went, she tried to picture this boy who she apparently had been her best friend when she was just a little girl. She couldn't recall a face, but as she repeated the name in her head, and tried to remember him, she felt a weird feeling in her stomach. It was the feeling you got when you where in line for a scary roller coaster, or bringing yourself to ask your crush out on a date, it was that tense feeling of Butterfrees fluttering freely about in your stomach. Each step made the feeling intensify, but as with the aforementioned examples above; the more she felt the sensation to turn and run, her instincts told her too keep going because the reward would be well worth it.

She finally reached the top of the stairs, and faced a long hallway, very similar to the one in her house. The only difference was the placement of the rooms. One door was on the right side of the hall, while the other was at the end, and this one was slightly ajar. May figured that was Brendan's room. She stood in place for a short silent moment, but finally got her shaky legs to move, inching closer and closer to the door.

As she grew near, she could hear the boy's voice escaping into the hall from the room. "Alright my pack's full, pokemon are fully healed, pokenav...where is that pokenav?..Oh there it is. Okay, ready to go!"

May heard rustling as the once ajar door opened fully, revealing a handsome 15 year old boy. She had to look up to meet his eyes since he was about 5'9, average height for a young Caucasian boy his age, but to May who was only 5'4, he was tall. The boy wore black pants, a dark orange shirt that had thick black stripes at the sleeves and joined at the torso.

He wore the most peculiar hat. It was a green headband with a sort of white fluff on the top. If not for his black sideburns, you would think the boy had been traumatized in his early years.

As May laid her eyes on him, she felt her cheeks fluster, and the feeling in her stomach intensified to an almost unbearable peak._ "Oh, he's really cute!"_ was the only thing she could think of as she stared at the boy. Finally after a quick moment of silence, May managed to collect herself and greet the boy properly...sort of.

"Umm...h-hello" May said awkwardly as she desperately tried to manage the large amount of blood flowing into her brown cheeks.

The boy looked back at her with blood rushing into his face (something that was clearly visible due to his pale skin). "Uhhh...hi" he said just as awkwardly as May.

Another adorable silence between the two teens.

Once again after the moment of silence, May spoke up. "My name's May, I just moved here from Johto..."

The boy did not reply. He was taken aback by her beauty. While she spoke, he took the opportunity to survey her curvy figure. Starting with her slender legs, he then moved up to her wide hips that slimmed into her thin waist, up to her busty chest, and finally at her beautiful face. _"Her eyes are so stunning"_ he though to himself, enraptured in them.

May waited for the boy to answer, but when she saw him running his eyes up and down her body, she gasped. "Oh my god, are you checking me out?" she exclaimed, blushing in disbelief.

This broke the boy from his trance "wha-oh no, I wasn't I swear!" the boy lied, immediately tearing his eyes away from May's hot body and looking elsewhere. "It's just that I heard a gym leader was moving next door and he had a kid, so I assumed you would be a boy. N-Not that there's anything wrong with being a girl, I'm not saying that!"

May crossed her arms and looked at him skeptically.

"Ah jesus..." the flustered boy said as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Look let's start over" he held out his hand "I'm Brendan, Brendan Birch."

May scrutinized him, and gave him a slight smile. "May Maple" she said as she gently took his hand and shook it, relieving Brendan of his fear that he made a bad first impression. After they parted their hands away, they stood still trying to avoid eye contact to hide their blushing faces. After a long tense silence, May spoke up "so I heard you and I use to play together when we were little."

"Really?" Brendan said nervously "I can't remember playing with anybody as a kid" he looked down toward the ground and chuckled nervously "I guess it's because it was so long ago hehe..."

"Yeah, hehe..." May chuckled as another silence flooded the hall.

_"Oh man, I'm dying here..."_

But before the situation grew any tenser, Brendan looked up from the ground. "So...later on, do you want to hang out or something?"

"Sure, why not" May chuckled, trying her best to keep her cool in front of Brendan "Maybe getting to know each other better will help with this whole conversation thing."

"Yeah, I guess you noticed I'm not the best when it comes to talking with others my age" Brendan said embarrassed "that's a consequence of living in a place filled with seven years olds. Usually they're the ones starting up conversations, and then those aren't much. The average one will go like: _'Hey Brendan, do you wanna play tag with us?'_ or _'Brendan, did you hear about this guy named bill holding up the senate? I say if they have real important stuff to do, they should just have him arrested and get him out of there!..yes I have been watching PNN, my ma told me to. She said it would help expand my mind.'_"

May giggled "You're pretty popular with the kids huh! Hehe, I guess it's cause they look up to you. After all, You are the oldest here...well oldest before I came, but I meant before that."

"I don't agree with you on that one" Brendan muttered "I think they see me as just a big old softie they can play pranks on, and they're right. Those damn kids are always playing tricks on me. Nothing serious, it's just a little embarrassing to get outwitted by kids."

"Oh don't get too down" May said "kids can be real convincing, what with their cute faces and innocent smiles. Hell if they wanted to, they could take your whole damn livelihood and keep you clueless with just a cute little comment, and you would smile and nod."

"Ain't that the truth" Brendan chuckled "well I gotta go document some pokemon for my dad, sorry I can't stay longer. I guess I'll see you soon!..Maybe...I hope...if you're not busy."

"I'm sure I won't be busy" May replied, still very much flustered "we don't have many belongings, so it won't take long to get everything set up in our new house. Maybe tomorrow we can uhhh...spend time together?"

"Sounds great!" Brendan exclaimed as he passed by May (trying to hide his blushing face, even though May had received an eyeful of it already) and strode down the stairs.

"Brendan did you meet the neighbor?" May heard Linda ask from downstairs.

"Sure did" May heard Brendan reply "she's really _fine..._er I mean nice. Well I gotta go mom, see you!" May heard footsteps, the door open, and then shut. May took a deep breath, still shaken by her exciting encounter with Brendan, and walked downstairs.

"Oh hi May! So did you remember Brendan when you saw him?" Linda asked with her ever present smile.

"No I didn't" May replied, with blood rushing back into her cheeks as she prepared her vocal cords to utter the next statement "but I like him. I think we'll get along well."

_"Very well!"_

"That's wonderful!" Linda exclaimed happily.

"Yes it is" May said with her face still lightly flustered. "Well I have to go, it was nice meeting you again Miss B...uh Linda. Goodbye!"

"Bye honey, stay safe and make good choices!" Linda said with the warmth of a Torchic (foreshadowing much!) as May waved back and exited the house.

* * *

May walked around town for the next couple of hours, meeting the friendly people, learning her way around town, marveling at the sights (one that really got to here was a large building in the middle of town with a large radar on the roof. It was totally out of place in Littleroot), really just learning about her new home.

After exploring the town for quite some time, May stumbled across a sign that read: _Route 101 ahead. Tread carefully, wild pokemon about._

May shuddered at the sign. "Looks like this is the town limits. Guess I should be on my way, the sun's beginning to set, and I don't want any run ins with those rabid killers..."

May turned to leave, but was stopped in place by a loud paralyzing shriek.

"HELP, HELP! PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!"

May turned around and faced the path leading to Route 101._ "Oh no, someone's in trouble!"_ May looked at the sign again, and then down the path. _"Puta madre! Por que los gritos tienen que venir de alli? Por que tengo tan pinche mala suerte?!"_

As much as May was terrified of going down Route 101 because of the presence of pokemon there, she knew someone was in danger and they needed help. Despite her fear, she had vowed to never stand by and let bad things happen to good. If there was one good thing that came from the incident back in South Goldenrod, it was that it showed her that her cowardice and inability to act lead only to death. "I won't let it happen again" she would tell herself "I won't let your death mean nothing." Even so, she still doubted herself, but now she could prove herself, this would be her first test.

May took a long deep breath, clenched her fists, and ran down the path.

Route 101 was wide and surrounded by dense forestry. She could hear the cries of wild pokemon escaping from the overgrowth. They sent a chill down her spine. It didn't take long for May to locate the source of the commotion. A burly man in a lab coat ran in circles as a small black and gray coated pokemon resembling a dog chased him.

As soon as May saw the pokemon she began to tremble. Her palms and forehead started to form beads of sweat. The memories of the past incident came flooding into her mind.

_**"My hand! Oh god my hand!"**_

"Y-You there!" the burly man cried in desperation as he noticed May "please help me!"

This broke May away from the painful memory. "H-How!?" she cried with a terrified voice.

"YAOW!" the man shrieked as the pokemon nipped himin the ass. The man jumped and started to clamber up a nearby a nearby Evergreen with the swiftness of a Mankey. The angry pokemon began to circle around the trunk of the tree, waiting for the man to come down. With safety temporarily secured, the man looked over toward May and yelled "grab a pokeball from my satchel, please hurry!"

May looked toward the grassy ground and saw a brown satchel. She ran over to the man's satchel and placed her trembling hand inside it. She felt different scientific instruments and paper run through her hand but no...wait, her hands came across something round and solid. To be accurate, she felt three round and solid objects. She opened her palm and used the expanded surface area to roll them all out at once. Before her were three red and white spheres, or pokeballs as they were commonly called. May looked at all three of them, unsure of what to do. "W-Which one do I use?!"

"Any, just grab any!" the man cried as he lost some of his grip on the tree. He began to slide ever slowly down the trunk of the tree as the strain in his palms became harder and harder to contain (much to the pokemon on the ground's delight). He was now clinging onto the tree for dear life.

May was terrified. She was scared of pokemon. How could she send one out without running away from it, let alone battle alongside one? Nevertheless she knew the man was in trouble, and she had to help him. So she swallowed her fear and grabbed a pokeball with her quivering hand. "A-Alright, here goes nothing. Go pokemon!" she cried as she released the ball from her hand. Out of the ball came a red swirl of energy that composed itself into a small chick-like pokemon with orange feathers. "Torchic!" he happily chirped as he turned toward May. _"Oh hello there stranger, I'm Torchic! I see we are in a battle right now. I'll do the best I can, just tell me what to do." _

_"Oh god, it's looking at me!" _May thought as she looked down at the small pokemon.

Catching sight of Torchic, the dog like pokemon shifted his attention away from the man clinging onto the tree, and onto May and Torchic standing before him. "Poochyena!" the pokemon barked angrily, glaring at the small fire-type starter. May began to tremble once again as she caught sight of the look of hate that Poochyena gave Torchic. She knew that look well, and with it came the memories. Ones that she tried so desperately to forget, but never could.

_**"AHHH get off me! Look away May, look away!"**_

May shook her head to focus back on the situation at hand. "W-What do I do now?!" she asked the man.

"Tell it to attack!" the man answered, now using his thighs to squeeze against the tree and relieve some of the pain in his hand. May nodded weakly and looked down toward Torchic.

"T-Torchic attack..." she stammered. Torchic stood silent for a moment and then turned around to look back at May with a puzzled _'what the fuck?'_ look on his face.

Poochyena took advantage of the confusion and began his charge toward Torchic, tackling the fire type with his broad head. "Torchic!" the little fire chick cried in pain as he skidded across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust as he went. He quickly got up and regained his composure. "Tor-Torchic?" _"Uhhh miss, do you know what you're doing?"_

"Try telling him scratch!" the man yelled from the tree.

"U-Use S-Scratch!" May said with what could only be described as a whimper. Torchic nodded and let a loud war-chirp escape his throat as he charged at Poochyena with his sharp curved talons ready to claw at his enemy. Unfortunately Poochyena dodged the attack and bit into Torchic's side. "Chic!" Torchic cried as Poochyena began to shake him violently with his drool covered maw. Poochyena's violent action brought the memories back into May's head.

_**"Get off you damned mutt!"**_

Poochyena released Torchic from the confines his mouth, sending the little fire type skidding across the ground again, but the little pokemon was resilient and got back on his feet.

"Hmmm, that didn't go well..." the man muttered, noticing the downright failure of the Scratch attack. He closed his eyes for a moment trying to think of another command he could tell May to use. After a short moment, his eyes flew open and a smile formed across his face "tell Torchic to use Ember."

May who was lost in the past while the man was thinking of a strategy, was brought back to reality by the man's voice. "Use Ember!" she cried, pointing at Poochyena. Torchic inhaled a great deal of oxygen, letting it rest in his fiery tummy for a short moment, and exhaled. He spewed a swarm of fiery projectiles from his beak. The projectiles tore through the air, and hit their mark. They erupted onto Poochyena's snout, scattering across the rabid pokemon's face and into his nose. "Pooch!" Poochyena cried as he began to roll around feverishly until he finally got back onto his feet and bounded into the overgrowth.

While May panted after the stressful encounter, the man leapt down from the tree and walked over toward May and Torchic. "Gee that was a close one" he said as he dusted himself off and held out his hand "thank you young lady, my name's Prof. Birch."

"Dios mio" May muttered, having not noticed Prof. Birch standing next to her "mi Corazon late como un hijo de puta! _'whew'_" May wiped the sweat off her forehead and looked up, finally taking notice of Prof. Birch standing over her with his hand held out. "Oh I'm sorry" she apologized as she took his hand and shook it "it's nice to meet you..."

"Prof. Birch."

"Prof. Birch" May repeated, still shaking his hand "I'm your new neighbor. I meet your wife and son two hours ago."

"Ha, I knew you looked familiar" Prof. Birch chuckled as he looked down at May "Norman and Caroline's daughter right? Of course I'm right, you've got your mother's eyes."

"Thanks" May replied, her body still shaking.

"Hehe, I remember when you were just a little one. You to call me Mr. Borch!"

"Oh really" May said a little embarrassed "well it's nice to see you again Prof. Birch."

"Likewise" Prof. Birch replied as he ran his hand through his curly brown hair.

"Torchic!" the little chick pokemon suddenly chirped as he ran towards May and began to nuzzle her leg in celebration of their victory. _"We did it! Whoever you are, I think you and I really connect ya know, let's be friends!"_

May turned pale as soon as Torchic made contact. She froze in place as she looked down at the cute little pokemon. Prof. Birch noticed the sudden loss of blood from May's face. "Are you okay?" he asked.

May shook her head, and nodded toward Torchic. "T-The Torchic" she whispered "i-it's t-touching me!"

At first Prof. Birch was unsure why this would warrant this kind of response from May, but then he put two and two together. "Oh my, are you afraid of pokemon?"

May nodded in reply. Prof. Birch grabbed Torchic's pokeball from the ground, and pointed it at the fire type. "Torchic return" he said, and with that, Torchic was recalled safely back into his pokeball. The color came back to May's face as her muscles eased.

"I'm sorry May, I didn't know you were scared of pokemon" he apologized "That whole experience must've left you terrified."

"It's okay" May said softly.

"Well at least it's over right!" Prof. Birch said happily, trying to cheer May up. She perked up a little and nodded her head.

"How bout we get out of here and head back to Littleroot, I'll even walk you home."

"Thank you Prof. Birch, I would like that" May replied as she and Prof. Birch started down Route 101's dirt path, heading back to Littleroot.


	3. Spread Your Wings

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, and do not profit from this story in any way. I also do not own the Steve Miller Band or any of its songs, for both will be mentioned many times in this chapter (and story in general).**

**Spread Your Wings**

_**Last chapter, May had arrived in Littleroot Town, her new home. She meet her neighbors Brendan and Linda Birch (immediately taking a liking to Brendan). She then walked around town to learn about her new home when she heard a cry for help from somewhere in the outskirts of town. She found that the commotion came none other than a distressed man in a lab coat being menaced by an angry Poochyena. Using the man's Torchic, May was able to fend off the angry Poochyena and save the man who was revealed to be none other than Prof. Birch, Linda's husband and Brendan's dad. After the encounter, Prof. Birch started to walk May home...**_

May was sprawled out on her bed under the thin covers, wearing a short blue nightgown that clung to her petite yet curvy frame. The moonlight streamed down onto her soft brown skin from the wide windows, a mystical companion in her new home. She looked back at the previous couple of hours. All in one day, she had arrived to her new home, explored the town, meet her neighbors (including a very cute old friend), saved the neighbor who happened to be the town's local pokemon professor, and come back home to relax and unwind after a long day. Finally she would get some well deserved sleep...well that's what she thought, but things don't always go as planned...

* * *

**Two hours and forty minutes ago...**

"Here we are, back in Littleroot!" Prof. Birch proclaimed as he grabbed his satchel's falling strap and pushed it back onto his shoulder "let's get you home May."

"Thanks again for walking me home Professor" May said as she and Prof. Birch walked down the kept dirt roads flanked by clean cut grass, making their way towards her new home.

"Hey it's the least I can do after you saved my butt...literally" the burly professor said as he rubbed the area in which Poochyena bit him "I think he left a bite mark..."

May shuddered at the mentioning of the earlier confrontation with the enraged Poochyena. After that stressful encounter, May just wanted to get home and rest her weary self. Maybe take a nice long nap on that new bed of hers.

_"My new bed...sure was comfy, can't wait to finally break it in. Get it use to my curves..."_

"So May, how are you liking Littleroot? The earlier encounter aside" Prof. Birch asked. Prof. Birch's voice broke May away from her thoughts. "Oh I've really enjoyed it. Everything is so pretty and clean, a big difference from South Goldenrod."

"Ha, it sure is" Prof. Birch agreed "you don't see any gangsters around here!"

"They're not all bad" May replied, looking up toward Prof. Birch "some of them can be real nice, they even gave me money for my birthday."

"I don't think that was them being nice" Prof Birch said skeptically "I think that was them err...trying to cozy up to you because..."

"Because what?" May asked curiously.

"Oh jeez" Prof. Birch muttered while he scratched the back of his neck "well May, you may have noticed as you've grown older your body has changed. Boys sometimes notice those changes too, and when boys find girls attractive, they tend to be nicer to them. You're not an ugly girl, very pretty in fact. So I think those gangsters were trying to win you over..."

"It's not like that!" May giggled "those gangsters were just being friendly. Hell they've known me since I was ten. The reason they were so nice to me is because I live on the same street as them, so they saw me as one of their own. Not to mention they use to be...my old friend's acquaintances..." May looked down towards the ground, remembering her old friend.

"What's wrong May?" Prof. Birch asked, noticing May's sudden change in mood.

"It's nothing Prof. Birch, nothing I'd like to talk about..."

"Oh" Prof. Birch whispered "well I guess we could change the subject. How about the one we were talking about before we got into the gangster conversation."

"That sounds good" May replied, perking up a bit "where was I...oh yeah, talking about how pretty Littleroot is. Like I said, this place is really beautiful. The sun shines brightly, the air is fresh and clean, and the people are real nice. Especially you're wife and son, they have been a real delight to meet."

"That's good to know" Prof. Birch said with a smile "Hehehe, I hope Linda didn't take you off guard with her overwhelming enthusiasm, you did notice it didn't you."

"I _sure_ did" May said, emphasizing _sure _"my poor cheeks can attest to that, your wife put them in a vice grip!"

"Oh my, you have my condolences. I know that grip _very_ well" Prof. Birch chuckled "but she does it out of love. She was probably ecstatic to see you again after so many years."

"Yeah, she was. It was nice to see her too, even though I couldn't remember her. In fact, I couldn't remember anything about you and your family" May said a little embarrassed "even though my mom and your wife told me I use to spend a lot of time with you guys, I cannot for the life of me remember any of it."

"Huh that's funny, my son Brendan couldn't remember your family too" Prof. Birch said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah I know, he told me" May replied.

"It surprised me because I remember him always wanting to play with you, he even cried when we told him we had to leave Goldenrod. But a few months ago when we asked him if he had any recollection of you, he said he had no idea who I were talking about. Now that I know you can't remember though, I guess it's because you two were so young."

"That's what I figured" May said " but after meeting him again, I think we hit it off nicely..." May began to blush at the thought of Brendan "he really is a nice person. It's no wonder I played with him so much as a kid."

"He is a good kid" Prof. Birch agreed "the local kids love him, they always want to be around him. He likes them too, but I don't think he can relate to them much...but you, you're someone he can relate too. That's why I'm so glad you moved here. Brendan needs someone his age to interact with. I can't have his social interactions to be tied to young kids, his pokemon, and me. It's just not healthy."

"Well I'm glad, I could use someone my age to hang out with here as well" May said with a smile, but her smile faded slightly as she continued her speech "especially since this town is so small. Goldenrod may have not been the best place on earth, certainly wasn't as pretty as this place, but it was big. Since I can't really stray far from home, it was nice to explore the community. What with Goldenrod being so huge, it rarely ever got boring, different drama _everyday_! Here though, not that Littleroot is bad or anything, far from it actually, I mean the serenity by itself..." May said dreamily as she closed her eyes and recalled the natural pleasure the small town gave her when she first stepped foot in it "but I digress. Littleroot may be an amazing place, but it's small. Since I won't be able to leave its confines, I'll be stuck here. Exploring the same old thing, everyday...I know each day brings something new, but here in Littleroot I fear that I'll be forced to repeat the same day over and over again."

"Huh, sounds to me like you're a bird in a cage" Prof. Birch said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not one to be tied down" Prof. Birch replied "I noticed it when you were just a kid, but you made it fully evident right now. You're just a bird wanting to spread your wings and fly aren't you?"

May stopped in her tracks "...if you put it that way, yeah I guess I am..."

"Then why don't you?"

"Because I can't" May said glumly "I can't go anywhere without...pokemon...Believe me, I would _love_ to go to different places and see new things, but every time I see one of those...creatures, I freak. I mean, I can't even look at one without trembling..."

Prof. Birch felt a pang of sorrow in his heart. This poor girl, she was denying herself something she had always dreamt of, just because something had happened to her that messed her up. How cruel life could be...No, this wasn't right. This girl couldn't stay confined here in Littleroot, she _had_ to go off and see the world.

"May, you can't stay confined here" Prof. Birch said bluntly as he laid his right hand onto her shoulder "what you just told me...I-It's just not right. Whatever it is that's holding you back, you have to get over it. I'll help you, hell we can all help you. Me, your mom, your dad, Linda, Brendan, we can all help. You just need to be able to accept our help, and face your fears. Please consider this."

"I'm sorry professor" May said looking down toward the ground "what happened..._'sigh'_ it was too much...Maybe you're right though, maybe I'm talking too soon. I was hoping that moving here would help me forget...It's too soon right now though. Maybe with time, but not right now..." May looked back towards Prof. Birch "but it's not al bad. Like I said before, I won't be alone here. I have my family, you, Linda, and your son. I'm sure I'll be fine here. thanks for listening to me though, I really do appreciate it."

Prof. Birch sighed "whatever you think is best. Well, I guess we should keep going."

"Yeah, let's keep going" May replied as the two continued toward the Maple's house.

* * *

"Here we are" May said, gesturing toward her new home "would you like to come in? I'm sure my mom would love to see you again."

"That sounds swell" Prof. Birch replied as May opened the door and lead the burly professor inside. As they entered the living room, May noticed her mother had already set up everything, not surprising since there was not much to set up.

"Mom, I'm home!" May called out, her voice echoing inside the large room.

"Coming dear!" May heard her mom say from the room where the kitchen was suppose to be. The door opened, and into the living room stepped Caroline, her orange dress trailing behind her.

"So honey, how was-" Caroline stopped midsentence when she saw Prof. Birch. "Oh professor, it's so nice to see you again!"

"It's nice to see you again Caroline" Prof. Birch chuckled as he gave Caroline a quick friendly hug.

"My it's been ages" Caroline said, her eyes dumbfounded by how long it had been since she last saw the burly professor "I would've come to your house sooner to see Linda and Brendan, but I had to set up the house, what with Norman setting up his gym. I think he'll be home soon though, probably in a couple of hours."

"I understand, we had to move her too you know hehe" Prof. Birch chuckled as Caroline turned her attention toward her daughter. "So I see you meet Prof. Birch and hid family I presume? Did you remember them when you saw them?"

"Uhhh no..." May said slightly embarrassed.

"It's fine though" Prof. Birch said, and then turned toward Caroline "can I speak to you in private?"

Caroline nodded and turned toward May "umm honey, you've had such a long day. Why don't you go to-"

"I heard" May interrupted "you both need to talk in private, I get it. Grown up stuff. I'll go up to my room" and with that, May went up to her room, leaving the two adults to talk about...well whatever it was they wanted to talk about.

Soon May was in her own room. "Ahhh, just like I left it" May said happily as she gazed at her room, all her belongings still in the one box she placed on the floor. She walked over to the box and opened it. Inside were all the things she had: three flannel shirts (two green, one red), a tight black t-shirt, four jeans, a fanny pack, a red button up dress shirt, a low cut black skirt, seven black 36c bras with matching black panties, seven pairs of black socks, two light blue nightgowns, a **Steve Miller Band** poster, a large text book on the Unovian Civil War, three towels, a flask of tequila, and a butterfly knife.

May picked up the last two objects and looked at them fondly, for they belonged to her old friend. She closed her eyes and sighed, the objects brought back memories of the happy times they spent together before he...passed away.

_"I'm never going to see him again."_

May opened her eyes and a sad expression formed on her face at the thought. Never again would she see her old friend, her brother really. She stood up, and walked over towards the small cabinet by her bed. She opened the cabinet with one hand and looked back at the two objects. She stared at them for a great while, and then placed them into the cabinet.

May sighed one last time and closed the cabinet, walking back to the box to pull out the rest of her belongings and start putting them away.

* * *

**Downstairs with Caroline and Prof. Birch...**

"Sit down professor" Caroline said warmly as she gestured Prof. Birch to sit down on the couch. Prof. Birch nodded and took a seat, while Caroline herself eased herself onto the other side of the couch. "So, what did you want to talk about that is so private?"

Prof. Birch paused a moment, collecting his thoughts, and then spoke. "Your daughter May, she really is a great girl. Young, independent, energetic...she really has a lot of potential to do so many things, really anything her heart desires."

"What are you getting at?" Caroline asked curiously.

"I know about May's fear" Prof. Birch said bluntly.

"What?" Caroline exclaimed shocked "h-how, she never talks about it, and I mean _never_. We've tried to get her to speak up about it in the past, but she always avoids the subject. How did you get her to tell you anything?"

"I didn't get her to tell me anything, it was just kinda thrown out" Prof. Birch replied "you see, earlier I was doing some field work on Route 101 when I caught sight of this Wingull, beautiful pokemon. Rarely see them on Route 101, so I was pretty excited when I caught him in the corner of my eye."

Caroline nodded, as if to say _"go on."_

"So I'm watching this Wingull fly above me right, and walking backwards to keep up with him so I don't lose him over the horizon, but the consequence of this is I can't see what's behind me. Without even knowing it, I've walked into tall grass. I keep going and going until I feel I stepped on something soft. Immediately after that a hear a sharp _yelp_ from within the grass. So I jumped back and looked down. Right before my eyes was this pissed of Poochyena glaring back at me, oh and when I mean pissed of, I mean _pissed off_. So I started to back away slowly out of the tall grass, but he keeps following me. That's when I got really scared and just froze in place, and so did the Poochyena."

"Oh my lord!" Caroline gasped as she covered her mouth with her hand "how frightening!"

"Yeah" Prof. Birch nodded "So as I was saying, this Poochyena and I get caught in this death stare, and I can't move a muscle cause I'm bracing myself for Poochyena to pounce, which he does after a short _very_ fucking intense moment. I jump and he misses, but he starts chasing me. I start running in circles screaming for my life _"help , please someone help!" _But even as I'm screaming this, I was doubting anyone would come. Luckily for me, May comes bounding down the dirt path. Long story short, she ends up saving my ass...literally."

"Hold up there" Caroline said skeptically, holding out her hands like she was trying to stop a car or something "My May...saved you...from a pokemon?"

"That's right" Prof. Birch replied "you're daughter saved me from a pokemon."

"B-But she's terrified of pokemon!" Caroline exclaimed still in disbelief.

"I know, that's how I learned" Prof. Birch said "she had to use one of my pokemon to fend off Poochyena. While she was doing that, I noticed that she had no idea what to do, so I just directed her. I thought she was just frightened by the situation, but when it was over, the pokemon she used ran up to her and started to rub against her leg. When it touched her, I saw the color drain from her face. That's when I realized she was scared of pokemon."

"My poor baby..." Caroline said sadly "she can never get a break, even here..."

"And she will never get a break" Prof. Birch added "no matter what or where she goes, she will never get a break..."

A lone tear fell down Caroline's cheek as Prof. Birch's statement hit her ears, ringing true. Even then, she didn't want to accept it. "Don't say that" she muttered "Norman and I hoped moving here would help her, but..." Caroline shook her head, not able to finish her sentence "Puta madre..."

"Look Caroline" Prof. Birch said softly, patting her on her back "the only way she'll be able to get over this is by facing her fears."

"But how?" Caroline asked "how will she do it?"

"I have an idea" Prof. Birch said in a whisper as he leaned closer to Caroline "but it will require you and Norman to help."

"What's your idea?"

"I was thinking of helping her get over her fear of pokemon...by using a pokemon."

Caroline stared at Prof. Birch dubiously. "You want to help her get past her fear...by using her fear?"

"Yes that's my plan" Prof. Birch said as he pulled out a pokeball from his brown satchel and handed it to Caroline "inside of that pokeball is a Torchic. The same Torchic May used to save me."

Caroline rolled the pokeball around in her palm "okay, so what's your plan?"

"I'll tell you" Prof. Birch said as he leaned back on the couch "you see, this Torchic has already taken a liking to May. If we can get May to associate this pokemon's friendliness with pokemon in general, she might overcome her fear."

Caroline stared at the pokeball. "You know, that's not a bad idea." As the plan surged through her mind, hope for her daughter flowed into her heart, bringing a smile back onto her face "this could actually work!"

"I really think it can" Prof. Birch replied "but we'll all need to help, especially you and Norman. She'll need both of your support the most."

Caroline nodded in agreement.

"At the end of the day though, this will all be in the hands of May. She's the only one who can overcome her fear, all we can do is be there for her."

"Your right, thank you professor" Caroline said warmly.

"No problem" Prof. Birch replied as he lifted himself off the couch "well I gotta go, Linda's making Tarous steak today. After that encounter, I need something in my stomach. Say hello to Norman for me."

"I will Professor, and thank you again" Caroline said as she lead Prof. Birch to the door and opened it for him to be courteous.

"Goodbye" Prof. Birch said as he exited the Maple's home "and good luck."

Caroline nodded, and Prof. Birch went on his merry way. Once he was gone from sight, she closed the door and headed back into the living room. She looked at the pokeball in her hand.

_"Oh May, in my hand is hope for you. Now all you need is to help yourself, but don't worry baby, you'll have mommy and daddy to help you along the way."_

Caroline breathed contently and headed upstairs. She approached May's room which was slightly ajar, and stealthily looked inside. There before her was her daughter putting away her belongings into her new room while whistling the tune to _Rock 'N Me Baby. _Caroline smiled and slowly drifted away from May's room and walked toward her and Norman's master bedroom. She placed the pokeball containing Torchic on the bed, and walked over to a sliding closet on the far side of the room. She opened it and reached into a decorated box, to be exact, it was the Mendoza Family keepsake box, passed down from Mendoza to Mendoza. Caroline opened the box and pulled out a simple jade pendant. The only thing unique about it was the carving of a serpentine-like dragon etched in the center of the jade. Caroline ran her thumb across the pendant and smiled.

_"Pronto esta sera para ti Mayo."_

Caroline then walked over toward the cabinet next to her bed, and placed the pendant on it. She gave it one last look before heading back downstairs into the kitchen to put away the rest of the dishes and eating utensils.

* * *

**Back to May...**

"All done!" May said to herself as she looked over at her room, now neatly filled with her belongings (the little that she had). Her clothes and undergarmets were all placed neatly in the sliding closet that was off to the side of the room. Her towels were placed inside her private bathroom, the door leading to said bathroom on the wall opposite of the sliding closet. Her desk housed her computer (the only electronic product she had). Inside her cabinets were the keepsakes from her late friend. On top of the cabinet was her text book, and finally taped on the wall was here **Steve Miller Band** poster.

May sighed, content with the structure of her new room. She slipped off her shoes, placed them near the bed, and jumped onto the bed. "Ahhhh..." she exhaled as she eased herself into the soft memory foam mattress

"Finally, I finally get to have some alone time with you!" she giggled as she rubbed her checks onto the soft plush. After a moment of breaking in her new bed, she laid her head on her pillow and untied her bandanna, letting her chestnut brown hair fall unto her shoulders and bed. She folded her bandanna and placed it on top of the cabinet next to her text book.

"Well everything is put away, what should I do next?" May asked herself as she ran her index finger across her lips "hmmmm...I could use a warm bath. Guess that's what I'll do!"

May lifted herself off her bed and went over to her closet. She pulled out a panty and one of her nightgowns. She held the clothes with both arms and made her way towards her bathroom. Once inside, she placed the clothes on the sink, and walked over to the porcelain white bath tub. She turned the hot water on, and let the tub fill. While she waited, she began to undress. Soon she was naked, her worn clothes folded and placed on the sink opposite of her sleep wear. By then the tub was filled and ready to envelop May in its warmth. Before she went in though, she grabbed a bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap from under the sink, and placed them on the rim.

"Everything's ready" May muttered as she slowly eased herself into the warm water. As soon as her skin made contact with the water, her nerves were greeted by a moderate wave of pleasure.

"Oooooohhh, that feels nice..."

May closed her eyes and started to scoop water into her hands and pour them onto her head, letting it run down her silky hair and onto her soft face. May then grabbed the shampoo and squirted some into her hand. She rubbed the substance into her head, gently running her fingers through her hair and scalp. As she caressed her hair, her mind wandered to the private conversation Caroline and Prof. Birch had.

_"I wonder why Prof. Birch wanted to talk to mom? I mean, why was it so private? Oh I know it's probably grown up stuff, but I can't help but feel curious...Ah whatever, it's none of my business, but you know what they say...curiosity killed the Meowth...huh, that's a pretty fucked up saying now that I think about it. It's only natural to be curious, that's an instinct in all creatures..."_

May broke away from her thoughts for a moment to scoop water and run it down her soapy hair.

_"Ooohhh my, that water feels good. Gotta enjoy the little things hehe...What was I thinking about before? Oh right! the curiosity thing! Who would've come up with that saying anyway? Probably some tyrannical dictator like Lysandre and Le Parti Flare back in the 1930s and 40s. Bastards, trying their best to stifle curiosity so no one would question them...Wait how did I end up here? Let's rewind a bit."_

May held out her index finger coated with soap foam and began to create a circling motion with it to simulate rewinding a tape.

_"Okay so I started talking about dictators because of...curiosity, yeah that's it! Now why was I thinking about curiosity?..Huh, I really go off topic sometimes...Oh I remember now, mom and Prof. Birch's private conversation. What in god's name were they talking about? Damnit, why the hell am I so curious?! You know what, I bet they were talking about me. That's why they wanted me up here. But what could they possibly be talking ab-wait, I know. Prof. Birch probably wanted to tell my mom about that whole incident with the...pokemon. But why would he want it to be in private? I already know what happened. Oh well, shouldn't dwell on it too much, it'll ruin my peace of mind..."_

"And that, is something I definitely don't want to disturb right now..." May said to herself as she continued washing herself, humming to herself without a care in the world.

* * *

**30 Minutes Later...**

May stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in two towels; one around her body, the other wrapped around her head. She walked over to her bed and placed her night wear down. She then proceeded to remove her towels, and get dressed. She slipped her panties on, and then her nightgown and _wala_! she was ready for bed time, whenever that would be, probably soon though, she did feel the sandman breathing down her neck.

"Stupid bath, it's washed away my tension and has left me ready to sleep, but I can't though, not yet. Gotta wait for dad to come home so I can wish him a good night. I haven't seen the man since we got off the plane, and I'm dying to give him a big 'ol hug!"

May rubbed her sleepy eyes and turned toward her bathroom "sleep is calling to me! I need to find something to do to keep me awake. Oh I know, I'll get my clothes ready for tomorrow."

May walked over to her closet, but then stopped.

"Huh, maybe I shouldn't wear any of the flannel shirts, it is going to be hot tomorrow. The only clothes I have for hot weather are the dirty ones..."

May looked over to the bathroom. She knew what she had to do.

"Better get washing!"

* * *

"There, everything has been put away!" Caroline muttered to herself happily as she gave her new kitchen the once over. Everything was put in its place, silent and ready to be used when the time came. As Caroline gave herself a mental pat on the back, she heard the door in the living room opening. She knew it could only be one person. She smiled and exited the kitchen, walking into the living room to greet her husband.

"Hey baby!" Norman greeted when he saw Caroline, wrapping his arms around his petite wife's thin waist, scooping her close to him.

Caroline giggled and gave him a peck on the lips "Hola guapo, I've been waiting for you to come home."

"And I couldn't wait to come either" Norman replied as he took his gaze away from his wife, to give the house a once over "my this place is bigger than I thought, way more space then we need. Doesn't matter though" he said as he cupped his wife's face with one hand "only the best for my little family."

"You're so sweet honey" Caroline muttered dreamily as she groped her husbands strong chest seductively, just as May came down the stairs carrying her dirty clothes. Norman and Caroline gasped as May looked at them for a short moment, then spoke up.

"Oh lord, you two are like teenagers."

"It's not like that!" Norman said with a red face as he let go of Caroline "she was just checking my heartbeat. All this moving has got my blood flowing ya know! hehe..."

"Sure" May said skeptically "anyway, I'm so happy to see you dad!" May then ran over toward her father and jumped into his arms "it's been almost all day!"

"I know honey, and I'm sorry about that" Norman apologized as he carried his daughter in his arms "I had to get the gym ready dear, but now that's all over and done with" he gave May a small peck on the check "I'm happy to see you hon."

Norman held May for a little while longer and finally put her down. He turned toward Caroline "so I see you two got this place all set up."

"No not me, mom did. She told me to go meet the neighbors" May informed him.

"Oh really" Norman smiled, looking toward Caroline and winking at her, then turning back toward May "did you remember them?"

"No" May said shaking her head "I couldn't remember any of them, but they were really nice. It's no wonder I use to hang around them so much when I was a kid."

"Oh" Norman said slightly disappointed "well I guess that isn't bad really, I mean it's like you got to meet them for the first time...again."

"Hey honey" Caroline said, putting her arm around May's shoulder "Don't you want to go to bed? You've had a long day after all."

"I was" May replied "I just wanted to wait for dad to come home so I could say good night to him."

"Aww that's sweet honey, goodnight" Norman said as he gave May a light kiss on the forehead.

"Good night dad...but also, before I was going to bed, I was going to get some detergent to wash my clothes for tomorrow. You know, since it's so hot, and all the other shirts I have are long sleeved. Sure I can roll the sleeves up, but I'd rather just go-"

"That's not a problem dear" Caroline interrupted "we don't have to wash them by hand, there's a washer and dryer in the back of the house."

"Oh really!" May said surprised "that's pretty neat, and convenient."

"Yes it is" Caroline replied "besides, you know I would wash them for you even without the washer. Now you go to bed and rest those tired eyes okay honey."

May nodded, handing her mom the clothes "okay mom, goodnight" she said as she gave her mom a kiss on the cheek, and then turned toward her dad "goodnight again dad" and gave him a kiss on the cheek as well.

"Goodnight honey" Norman said as May walked back upstairs to her room. As soon as May went to her room, Norman looked toward his wife with a mischievous smile "jeez so eager for May to leave us alone, what do you have in mind?"

"Sucio" Caroline giggled as she lightly slapped his chest, but then her tone became serious "We need to talk about May."

Norman was taken off guard by the sudden tone shift "uhh what do you mean?"

"About her...problem" Caroline whispered.

"Why?" Norman asked "she seems fine, I think moving here has already helped her a lot."

Caroline shook her head "can you wait for me upstairs, I'm going to put May's clothes in the wash."

Norman nodded and went upstairs to their room.

* * *

"So honey, what is it you need to tell me?" Norman asked as he plopped down on his bed and began to take off his shoes.

"May dear, we need to talk about May...and her problem."

"Okay" Norman muttered as he struggled to take off his last shoe "go on."

Caroline took a moment to collect her thoughts "...we need to get May to face her fears."

Norman stopped fiddling with his shoe. He placed his foot on the ground and looked over toward his wife "honey, she's already been through so much. She's just got here, and now you want to make her confront her fear?"

"No it's not like tha-"

"Yes it is" Norman interrupted, his voice becoming angrier "that's exactly what it's like. Think about it baby, May has just arrived in her new home. She's left everything behind, including that incident. She thinks that here maybe she'll learn to move forward, but out of the blue you want to take that away and shove the very thing she's trying to forget right into her face. It's just not fair!"

"No Norman!" Caroline said raising her voice "what's not fair is keeping our daughter confined in this little town. You think moving is going to magically make her forget?"

"Yeah!"

"No honey, it's not!" Caroline said sternly "look I was hoping it would just like you, but Prof. Birch opened my eyes. She won't get over this until she faces her fears."

Norman sat silent. He didn't want to accept that, but deep down he knew for a fact she was right. He had hoped so desperately to god that his daughter could somehow find a way to forget about her troubles by basking under the sun in her new peaceful town. Could he have been so naïve? Was this all a delusion. No it couldn't be, May would find her way, he knew it!

"Caroline, I really don't think we should do that" Norman mumbled "we should leave her be and let her get over it her own way. Making her face her fears is not going to help."

Caroline sighed "Hon, today she was already forced to stare at her fears, directly in the eyes."

Norman quickly turned his head "W-What?"

Caroline nodded her head and sat next to her husband. "Let me tell you what Prof. Birch told me..."

**A few minutes later after a recounting of the encounter May and Prof. Birch had with the pissed of Poochyena..."**

"Wow" Norman muttered, frozen in disbelief by the story "our May...saved Prof. Birch?"

"Yes dear"

Norman was sure he didn't hear correctly, he couldn't have. "Our May, saved Prof. Birch from a pokemon...with a pokemon? Our May?!"

Caoline nodded her head "She sure did."

"Wow" Norman said yet again "that girl...wow..."

"But don't you see Norman, even here she won't be able to run from her fear" Caroline said sadly "there will always be a constant reminder for her, this place no matter how beautiful or peaceful, will not get her to forget."

Norman sat silent for a moment "...You're right...both you and Prof. Birch are right..." This pained Norman to say. It made him feel like a failure. Despite getting his family to move to a better home, and improving their financial situation, he still could not help his daughter. "Oh honey, I-I feel so ashamed. Wenever even tried to help her cope with the fear. W-We just left her alone, and hoped for the best..." Norman laid his head onto Caroline's shoulder "we're terrible parents..."

"We are hon" Caroline said sadly as a tear streamed down her cheek "but we can change that, we can help fix what is broken."

"How?" Norman asked glumly.

Caroline sat up and walked over to a cabinet near the bed. She opened the cabinet and pulled out the pokeball Prof. Birch had given her for May. "The professor gave this to me" Caroline said "he told me this was the pokemon May used to save him, a Torchic. He said that this Torchic had already taken a liking to May."

"So his plan was to try and get May to get over her fear by using this pokemon right?" Norman inquired.

Caroline nodded her head "exactly."

Norman thought long and hard "I don't know baby, forcing May to deal with her fears seems so mean. She's already been through so much..."

"Honey, if we don't, she'll never get over her fear. If she never get's over her fear, she'll be trapped forever" Caroline said sadly "remember before the incident, how she was so bent on getting a pokemon to explore Johto. Remember her enthusiasm, her drive, her happiness? Now look at her, she's not happy. She tries to hide it, but I can tell she's hurting inside. The only way I think she can be truly happy is to allow her to do what she has always dreamt of doing: Going out into the world to experience life, not to be trapped in the confines of one city or town. Who are we to deny her freedom."

"My poor girl" Norman said with a sudden realization of what they had inadvertently done to May "she has been trapped in one place all her life hasn't she...Not anymore damnit!" he proclaimed as he sat up and looked toward Caroline "We're not going to make the same mistake again. We're going to get her over this fear, and finally give her what she's always dreamed of...freedom."

"Thank you for finally realizing honey" Caroline said with a hopeful smile on her face as she held onto the pokeball with two hands.

"Thank you for finally opening my eyes dear" Norman said as he lightly grasped his wife's arms, looking into her blue eyes.

"I think we should thank Prof. Birch, he's the one who actually opened our eyes" Caroline mumbled as she drew herself closer to Norman, her eyes locked with his.

"We will, first chance we get" Norman replied as he grabbed the pokeball from Caroline's hand and looked at it intently, then placing his green orbs back onto his wife "tomorrow, we'll start getting May use to pokemon."

"I can't wait" Caroline said as she placed her cheek against his broad chest "we'll finally make it all better."

Norman sighed happily as he wrapped his arms around Caroline "tomorrow will be the start of a whole new life for May..."

The two then stood silent, holding each other in their loving embrace.

"You know what dear, I think we should break in the bed."

Caroline giggled "that sounds lovely!"

"That's just what I wanted to hear!" Norman said in a lustful grunt as he lifted his giggling wife into the air and placed her on the bed. He swiftly got on top of her, and locked his lips with hers, creating a passionate kiss. Through the sensual moans, removal of clothes, and feverish groping of each other's body, Norman was somehow able to place the pokeball on the cabinet near the bed, and turn out the lamp lights.

"Oh Norman..."

* * *

**Two Hours later...**

Nighttime in Littleroot was calm and quiet. Not that a noisy night would wake the elder Maples from their slumber, especially after an intense expression of their love. No, Norman and Caroline were fast asleep, Caroline with her arm wrapped around her lover's chest, and her head under his chin. Norman laid on his back with one arm wrapped around Caroline, holding her close to his side.

The only noise this night came from Norman. As he slept, he muttered various statements, most likely relating to the dream that was playing out in his head.

"Mmmmm...let me ride the Ponyta..." Norman mumbled in his peaceful sleep as he shifted his free arm to the side, striking the pokeball sitting on the cabinet near the bed. The pokeball hit the floor, causing it to open and release the small fire type chick confined inside.

"Tor Torchic" the little pokemon chirped as he observed his new surroundings. _"Hey now, where am I? This place doesn't seem familiar, not at all."_

Suddenly an aroma filled his nostrils. He smiled because he recognized the scent; it was sweet, soothing, and instantly put him at ease. The scent came none other than they called May. He didn't really know May, after all he only battled alongside her once, but in that short meeting he felt a connection with her. Sure she was a little weird, but he could tell she was benevolent at heart. "Torchic!" he chirped as he took another whiff and started to follow the scent to its source. _"Where oh where is that May human?"_

Torchic followed the magnificent scent down a hall until he reached a door slightly ajar, and entered the room. Torchic instantly caught the sound of soft breathing and knew it was May. "Torchic!" he chirped happy and excited as he jumped onto the bed and walked across May's sleeping form until he was next to the side of her face. There he sat, cuddling next to May's cheek and began to sleep.

May began to stir. "...My cheek..." she muttered in her sleep, not waking Torchic.

A few more minutes passed.

"Ow my cheek!" May cried, sitting up and cupping her cheek in her hand "it burns!"

The sudden noise and movement woke Torchic from his slumber. "Torchic!" he chirped, eager to see May awake. _"Hey you're awake, I'm so happy to see you again! Do you want to play, cause I sure do!"_

May took one look at Torchic and gasped. Her face grew pale, and her light blue nightgown felt heavier as well as her legs. Torchic started towards her, trying his best not to lose his balance on the plush mattress.

"AHHHH!" May shrieked as she jumped off the bed and backed away slowly. Torchic was oblivious to May's fear, and continued his advance, jumping from the bed and walking towards May. May's body was now in fight or flight mode. She had been backed into a corner by her worst fear. She looked around desperately for something to protect herself with. She ran over to her desk and grabbed various items to fling at Torchic. Thinking it was a game, he dodged the items, chirping happily. _"What kind of game is this? Whatever it is, it's fun!"_

May grabbed an eraser and flung it, hitting him squarely on his forehead and causing him to fall on his bottom.

Torchic was in shock. Why had May attacked him? All he wanted to do is play with her. _"W-Why did you hit me?! I-I didn't do anything wrong did I? I just, I just wanted to 'sniff' play..."_ The young Torchic not knowing how to deal with the emotional and physical pain inflicted on him by May began to weep.

May looked toward the weeping pokemon and felt a pang of guilt. Her fear was replaced by sorrow. This little pokemon was harmless! For the first time in a long while, she felt compassion for pokemon. Her eyes swelled up with tears. How could she hurt something so friendly and innocent? More tears fell from May's eyes as she slowly approached Torchic.

"I'm so sorry" she said with a trembling guilt filled voice. She slowly picked up Torchic and put him to her chest, her arms under him acting as a cradle. She began to gently sway him like a mother with her baby. Torchic stopped crying and looked up toward May.

"Please forgive me Torchic, I couldn't help it" May sobbed, disgusted with herself "I never meant to hurt you, oh I'm such a bad person..."

"Torchic" the little pokemon said, shaking his head in disagreement._ "No you're not. I know you're a good person. You just got scared is all, I understand."_

"Torchic, do you forgive me?" May asked. Torchic chirped happily, cuddling up against her bosom._ "Of course I forgive you, I know we'll be the best of friends!..oh my, these are really soft..."_

"Thanks for forgiving me" May said as a motherly smile grew on her face. She started to gently rock Torchic. "Go to sleep little Torchic..." she trailed off.

For some time, she sat on the foot of her bed, rocking the small pokemon until he fell asleep in her arms.

"Goodnight...Torchic..." May said sleepily as her eyes began to close, weary from the long eventful day. Soon, she too fell asleep with her new friend in her arms.

* * *

**Morning...**

The morning sun's rays flooded May's room as it bathed the brunette and her new friend in its warm radiance. May yawned, slowly opening her eyes. In her arms was Torchic soundly asleep. She watched him as his little belly move in and out as he breathed softly. She smiled and started petting Torchic's orange feathers; they ruffled under her touch. Feeling the sensation of someone touching him, Torchic slowly woke up, chirping happily when he saw May's face hovering over him.

"Good morning Torchic" May said warm motherly voice "how are you feeling?"

Torchic responded with another happy chirp _"Much better, thanks for rocking me to sleep. You're a really great friend."_

"I'm assume that means you're feeling much better!" May giggled "now that we're up, is there anything you want to do?"

Torchic looked away from May and began to ponder on May's question. After a short moment, he looked back toward May and shook his head "Tor Torchic"_ "No, nothing in particular. I'll do anything you're up for though."_

May shrugged her shoulders "huh, so you don't got any ideas for something to do. Okay, well that's fine. You know what, let me get ready, you know brush my teeth and everything. Then we'll decide on something to do, okay buddy."

Torchic gave off an agreeing chirp.

"Alrighty then, let's go" May said as she got up and walked over to her bathroom, Torchic still in her arms.

* * *

**The elder Maple's room...**

"Ahhhh...what time is it?" Norman yawned, sitting upright and stretching. As he cracked his neck languidly, he reflected on his first night in Hoenn. He had to say, it was pretty damn good. Before getting off the bed, he leaned toward the person who made it such a good night, and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Then he turned his head toward the alarm clock on the cabinet near the bed.

"Seven o clock."

Norman got off the bed and was about to walk over to the bathroom to shower up, when he noticed something. _"Hey where'd the pokeball go, I could've sworn I left it here?"_ he thought as he gazed at the (I shouldn't say barren, it had a lamp and alarm clock sitting on it...I guess I'll call it pokeball-less, yeah that's it) pokeball-less cabinet.

He looked down and saw the empty pokeball on the floor.

Norman stood silent for a moment. "Aw crap, it escaped..."

* * *

**Back to May...**

Torchic looked on at May with a puzzled expression as she stood still, rubbing the inside of her mouth vigorously with some sort of handheld human object. It appeared that the more she rubbed, she created a white foam in her mouth that slowly dripped down into a weird circular hole that made the foam disappear. Frankly, the whole sequence disturbed him. After about two minutes of May creating foam and spitting it into the hole, she turned a weird metal knob, and a stream of water flowed out from a sleek curved rod that pointed toward the spit-hole. May then cupped the falling water into her mouth, gargled, and spit it into the hole.

"All done!" May said happily as she placed her toothbrush over the water to clean it off, put it away, washed her hands, and dried her hands with a towel. "What do ya think Torchic?" May asked as she showed Torchic her clean pearly white teeth "nice and clean aren't they, and smell my breath!"

May exhaled onto Torchic, filling his nostrils with a yummy minty scent. Torchic chirped happily, causing May to giggle. "Smells pretty good huh!"

Torchic nodded his head.

"That's what we call brushing our teeth" May informed him "we humans do it to keep our mouths fresh and clear of germs and plaque."

Torchic once again gave her a puzzled look "Tor Torchic?" _"Germs and plaque, what's that?"_

May looked at Torchic, and figured by the confused expression on his face that he had no idea what she was talking about. "Oh that's just the stuff that builds up in your mouth" May said matter-of-factly "it makes your mouth smell, so you got to clean it...well you don't _really_ clean it, you just mask it with the minty smell of the toothpaste...I guess you kill a lot of the germs, but they're are still many left in your mouth...whatever, I like to do it, we all do. Makes us feel clean."

Torchic shrugged, still not understanding the strange human custom.

"Oh well, I don't expect you to get it" May uttered when Torchic shrugged "anyway, I'm done brushing my teeth. All I need to do now is get dres-"

May stopped when she realized her clothes were still probably in the washer. She sighed and looked toward Torchic "before I get dressed, I have to get my clothes." May picked up Torchic and held him close as she proceeded to exit her room, but just before she got to the door, she stopped when another thing popped into her mind. She slowly turned around and walked toward the cabinet near her bed. She shifted Torchic to her right arm, and used her now freed left arm to grab her green bandanna.

"Need to wash this" she muttered as she finally exited her room, and made her way to the washer and dryer at the back of the house.

* * *

**Back to Norman...**

_"It has to be somewhere in here!"_

Norman frantically searched for Torchic in his and his wife's room, looking under the bed, in the closet, inside the cabinet, any nook and cranny he could think of. As he looked for the small pokemon (as quietly as he could so he did not distub his wife's slumber), a thought entered his head.

_"Oh crap, what if it got into May's room?"_

Norman's eyes became wide, and his blood ran cold. He could already imagine his daughter waking up to the pokemon. He could see her shrieking in terror, and trembling like she stood at the center of a raging fault line. She would never _ever_ go near a pokemon ever again if something like that were to happen. This would be the straw that broke the Camerupt's back (or in this case, the incident that would break the girls mind). Then she would never be able to cope with her fear, he would've truly failed her.

_"Failed her"_

Norman's heart dropped as he said this phrase in his mind.

_"Failed her"_

Norman shook his head _"NO, I'm NOT going to let that happen. Hold on baby, daddy's going to save you!"_ and with that, Norman strode towards May's room. He flung open the door and...saw that it was empty.

"W-What?" was all Norman could say as he looked into the lifeless room. Norman scratched his head and pondered where his daughter could be.

Creak...

Norman's ears perked up when he heard the sound of a door creaking downstairs. _"Sounds like it came from the laundry room!"_ he said inwardly as he left May's room and headed downstairs. When he reached the bottom, he ran through the living room, then through the kitchen towards the laundry room...and came to a halt when he heard the dryer spinning, and voices coming from the laundry room.

**_"There we are, my clothes are in the dryer, and my bandanna's in the wash. Won't be long now...so, what do ya want to do to pass the time?"_**

Norman's face made a contorted/puzzled expression as he raised his ear and slowly approached the door leading to the laundry room.

_**"Tor Torchic Tor!"**_

_"I-Is that May and...Torchic?"_

Norman shook his head _"no, i-it can't be..."_

_**"I don't even know why I'm asking you, I can't even understand you...but damnit, you're so damn huggable!"**_

It was May, it was her voice, yet it couldn't be her. She was afraid of pokemon. This inward arguing flooded Norman's head, his mind swaying back and forth between the two voices. Finally Norman had enough and realized the debate whether it was May or not was getting him nowhere, there was only one way to find the truth. He grasped the door knob, turned it, and flung the door open, revealing his daughter seated on the floor, in a loving embrace with her worst fear.

"M-May!?" Norman said with a shocked voice, unable to believe his eyes.

"Good morning dad!" May greeted happily, just as Torchic gave a happy chirp in greeting as well. Norman did not respond, he was still too dumbfounded to answer. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up.

"M-May, a-aren't you afraid of pokemon?"

May stood up, with Torchic still in her arms "I _was_ afraid of pokemon...until last night."

Norman was taken aback by May's stament. "One night!? How?! You got over your fear in one night?!"

"I guess so" May muttered, taking into account the absurdity of what she just said. After all, it was a pretty unbelievable. "Let me tell you what happened..."

**A few minutes later...**

"Wow, what a crazy night" Norman muttered with a hint of sadness in his voice "you poor thing, you must've been scared."

"I'm not going to lie, I was" May said, reflecting back on last night "but seeing poor Torchic hurting on the floor...I guess it reminded me that pokemon weren't all bad. He made me remember that they are living beings just like us. They are capable of both good and evil. I guess after...well you know, I forgot about that."

Norman's lip trembled, and out of nowhere, he wrapped his arms around May giving her tight hug (and squashing poor Torchic in the process). "Oh honey, you don't know how happy I am for you!"

"Jeez dad" May gasped "you're taking the air out of my lungs!"

Apparently Norman did not hear May. "You don't know how much it pained me to see you so afraid, ohh my little baby..."

"D-Dad!" May gasped once more, this time catching Norman's attention. "O-Oh sorry honey" Norman said a little embarrassed as he let go of May "it's just that I'm really happy for you. I remember how you were before that incident, when you were so eager to get your first pokemon and go on your journey, but then...I saw your flame go out. I feared it wouldn't come back, but it did, and I'm so happy!"

"Awww that's sweet dad" May said warmly as she gave her dad a kiss on the forehead.

"Tor Torchic!"_ "Hey did you forget I was here? I want some attention!"_

Both May and Norman looked down toward Torchic, chirping to get attention.

"There's my little savior" May giggled as she looked back toward her dad "I just have no idea how he got into my room, or where he came from."

"I can answer that" Norman replied as he began to recount Prof. Birch's plan...

**Minutes later...**

"So you all wanted to use Torchic to help me get over my fear?"

"That's right honey" Norman replied "we were going to try and help you associate Torchic's fondness of you with pokemon in general. We just didn't expect for Torchic to get loose, and for you to get over your fear without our help but, I guess it was just meant to be. After all, you've always wanted to go out into the world..."

Once her father said that, May's hear began to pound rapidly. Was he really going to let her do what she think he was going to let her do? "Y-You don't mean..."

"Yes dear" Norman said as he nodded his head "We all want you to finally realize your dream. Go see the world, go spread your wings and fly."

May gasped, she was finally going to do it. For fifteen long years, she was denied her dream. First out of poverty, then out of her own fear, but now she had the opportunity, the chance to finally leave the cage and go into the world in all its glory.

"Oh dad!" May exclaimed, jumping into her fathers arms "Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou, THANKYOU!"

"Wow there" Norman chuckled as he lightly reeled from the force of May's leap "don't thank me, you should thank Prof. Birch. He was the one who saw the longing in your eyes and decided to do something about it..." Norman's voice changed, gaining a hint of self loathing "...your mother and I never did anything to try and help you. We just thought you would get over it on your own...how stupid..."

"Don't say that" May replied as she placed her head onto her dad's chest "you did what you thought was best."

"That's no excuse honey" Norman muttered as he gave his daughter a tight hug "what we did, or rather what we _didn't_ do is unforgivable. The only apology we can give you is by allowing you to do what comes natural to you" he let go of May and stood up "go on get out of here. Go do your thing honey!"

"I will dad!" May proclaimed as she went to scoop Torchic into her arms...

_Ping!_

May turned toward the dryer "oh uh, I will go, right after I get changed!"

_Ping!_

This time the washer pinged

"and wait for my bandanna to dry..."

* * *

**A While Later...**

May stood in her room, sliding her recently washed shirt over her head. It was the second to last article of clothing that was keeping her from going out on her adventure...well that wasn't entirely true. Before she went on her journey, her dad told her (before he left for work) to thank Prof. Birch for coming up with the plan to help her, and giving her Torchic, and say goodbye to mom. Since Caroline was still asleep, May decided to head over to the Birch's residence.

"Alright, you can open your eyes now" May said to Torchic (May had made Torchic close his eyes while she took off her nightgown and put on her bra), who stood with his eyes closed on the bed.

Torchic opened his eyes, and gazed at May.

"Like the clothes?" May asked as she looked over herself, pleased with her outfit.

Torchic nodded his head politely.

"Thanks" she said as she walked over to the bed and knelt down to look Torchic in the eye "can you believe you and I are going to travel across Hoenn together!"

"Tor Torchic!" he chirped, jumping up and down. _"I know I can't wait, it's going to be so fun! Just you and me against the world!"_

"Hehe, well I can see you're just excited as I am" May giggled as she patted Torchic's head and stood back up "let me just put on my bandanna, then we'll get going...to Prof Birch's house first, I need to thank him for all he's done."

Torchic nodded in understanding, while May picked up her now dry green bandanna. Before she put it on, she gazed at it in remembrance of her old friend. After the brief moment, she smiled and then it onto her head.

"Return Torchic" May said as she picked up Torchic's pokeball from the bed and recalled him into its confines. Once Torchic was safely inside, she clipped him onto a pokeball belt on the upper part of her waist, and finally clipped on her green fanny pack, filled with everything she would need for her journey (clothes...and stuff. May didn't really pack a lot of things. She was too anxious to go on her journey as soon as possible, so she just threw her undergarments and sleepwear into the fanny pack).

"I'm all ready!" May said to herself as she straightened out her shirt "time for me to...fly like an eagle!" **(Another Steve Miller Band reference).**

Wasting no time, May exited her room, dashed down the stairs, and practically burst through the front door, letting the warm sun shine down onto her soft brown skin as she ran to the Birch's house.

* * *

Knock

Knock

"Now who could that be?" Linda thought to herself as she got up from the chair she was sitting on to answer the door. What she saw before her put a puzzled look on the dark haired lady's face; a large cloud of dust in a large shroud where someone should be if they were to knock on the door. Even weirder was she heard coughing from within the cloud.

"What the-"

Before Linda could finish her thought, the dust began to dissipate, revealing a coughing brown skinned girl fanning the cloud to get it out of her way.

"Oh hello May!" Linda greeted with her usual cheerful manner "what brings you over here? Oh I know, you've come to visit Brendan haven't you!"

May looked up toward Linda while still fanning the air around here "Oh hi _'cough'_ Linda _'cough cough'_ it's good to see you. To answer your question_ 'cough'_ no I'm not looking for Brendan _'cough'_ I'm looking for your husband_ 'cough cough'_."

"Umm dear, why are you coughing so much?" Linda asked concerned for May's well being "are you coming down with something?"

May shook her head, finally fanning away all the dust and getting her coughing fit under control. "No, I'm actually here to see your husband Prof. Birch. I want to-"

"I know, save him again!" Linda interrupted, laughing up a storm "he told me how you caved that big butt of his. Thanks for that, you really are something aren't you miss Mendoza!"

"Hehe, thanks" May chuckled "but I'm no hero, I just did what I knew I needed to do."

"Oh don't be modest!" Linda replied cheerfully "but back to your question. No he's not here, he's over in his lab right now. Said something about a shipment from the Kanto region, but I don't know what it is."

_"Lab" May thought to herself "hmmmm, I wonder if it's that one building I saw yesterday..."_

May broke away from her thoughts and asked "Ummm Linda, by any chance is your husband's lab the one with the big radar disk on the roof, in the center of town?"

Linda nodded vigorously "yup-er-onnie-do, that's my husband's lab. Nice place, I just wish he would keep it cleaner at times, but he says he's too busy, which he is, but there must be some time to clean up the place. Oh I know he usually works in the field, but still..." she trailed off.

"I'm sure he does the best he can" May replied as she turned to leave "well I gotta go miss Bir-I mean Linda, have a nice day!"

"You too May, have a nice day!" Linda replied as May jogged away, toward the center of town. Linda stood at the door frame, watching May disappear into the distance. Once May was out of sight, she giggled.

_"That girl is something else, so darn energetic!"_

* * *

May ran through the town, passing through the empty streets illuminated by the late morning sun that added to the town's sleepy and quaint feel. As she ran down the dirt path, a large building started to come into view, totally out of place in the small town. It was much larger than the residential homes surrounding it, and seemed to be very modern, what with the radar disk and solar panels on the roof. May ran up to the entrance and went inside.

When May entered the structure, she was taken aback by the condition it was in. Her eyes fell to the floor first, where documents, crumbs and various objects were strewn about. Her eyes then raised up to look at the tables which had scientific instruments and chemistry equipment set up in a hasty manner.

_"Oh my god, Linda wasn't kidding. I wonder how he could find, let alone work with anything in this mess."_

May's eyes moved away from the room in disarray, and fell upon a familiar burly man in a white lab coat. It appeared his attention was focused on opening a brown parcel he had on his desk.

"Good morning Prof. Birch!"

The large professor jumped slightly, taken off guard by the sudden cheerful voice, and turned around.

"Why hello May, it's nice to see you again...why am I seeing you again?"

May gasped and looked a little shocked. "Uhh w-wha..."

"Oops sorry!" Prof Birch interrupted before May could finish. He just realized that what he said sounded kind of mean. "I didn't mean it like that, I'm just surprised to see you here is all."

"Uhh it's okay" May replied understandingly "I'm just here to say thank you."

"Thank you?" Prof. Birch said confused "why?"

"For helping me overcome my fear."

This took Prof. Birch by surprise. First of all, how the hell did she find out it was him who set up the plan. Secondly how did the plan work overnight? He had literally told Caroline his plan last night. Now here was May, telling him she was fine. What the fucking fuck?

May looked on at Prof. Birch who was standing silently with a weird look on his face. May figured he was in disbelief over how she could've overcame her fear so quickly. She sighed and cleared her throat.

_"I have a feeling I'll be telling this story many more times today..."_

"I can see you're a bit shocked" May said as she looked at the still silent Prof. Birch in his eyes. She grabbed his hand and lead him to one of the various tables he had in his lab and sat him down. "Let me run through what happened last night..."

**Minutes later...**

"Wow, that's some story" Prof Birch said with a dumbfounded voice. He was still shocked, to say the least.

"Yeah, but now I don't see pokemon as just monsters waiting to kill. I see them as friends now...again, I see them as friends again" May corrected herself "and I have you to thank for that professor."

Prof. Birch finally was able to shake off the disbelief, and heard May's words in their entirety. He smiled and placed his large hand on her shoulder "you're welcome May, but it wasn't something I did to be nice, it was something I did because I knew I needed to do it" he looked her in her beautiful sapphire orbs "just like when you saved me."

"Either way" May replied "I must thank you. Your plan is really going to change my life...I mean...I'm going to see the world! I've always wanted to do that. I guess in the past year I had forgotten that with my original perception of pokemon, but now that I've regained both of those things I feel...happy, genuinely happy!"

"I'm glad" Prof. Birch removed his hand from her shoulders and stood up "by the way, how is the little guy doing?" **(he is referring to Torchic)**

"I'll show you!" May said as she unclipped the lone pokeball from her belt and pressed the center button "come on out Torchic!"

Out of the red and white sphere came May's little fire type starter. He looked around and noticed the familiar surrounding, how could he not? It had been his playground before he met May. As he looked around, he noticed he was cast in a shadow. He looked up and saw a large figure smiling down at him.

"Torchic Tor!" Torchic chirped happily, happy to see a familiar face. _"I remember you! You're the big hairy guy that use to take care of me!"_

"Hey there Torchic!" Prof. Birch said with a warm but gruff voice as he knelt down to pet his old pal. Torchic accepted his touch eagerly. After getting pet, Torchic caught sight of May, and gave her a happy chirp as well.

"Ha, you and Torchic seem to get along well!" Prof. Birch chuckled as he removed his hand away from Torhic's head and stood back up "he seems to have really grown on you!"

"And I to him" May added as she lifted Torchic into her arms and gave him a hug "I just can't seem to keep myself from squeezing him!"

Prof. Birch chuckled one more time, and then looked upon Torchic and May with his index finger under his chin, deep in thought. May caught sight of him and became curious. "What's the matter professor?" she asked.

"...May, I just got a package from Prof. Oak in Kanto" Prof. Birch answered "it's something that will help greatly with my work that you could help me with while you travel."

"Really!" May exclaimed, becoming even more curious "what is it?"

"All in good time" Prof. Birch replied as he started to pace around the half open packages on his desk "before that, I want you to do me a quick favor."

"Of course professor" May said, nodding her head "what do ya need me to do?"

Prof. Birch stopped pacing and cleared his throat. "Well this task I mentioned to you is something I want you and my son Brendan to complete. Rather then tell you both separately, I can tell you both at the same time. The problem is he's up on Route 103 past Oldale Town doing field work. Can you bring him over here so I can tell you both what the task is?"

"Sure no problem" May replied as she placed her happy pokemon on the floor, recalled him, and started toward the lab's door, but stopped before she opened it. She turned back toward Prof. Birch "Ummm this Oldale Town, I'm assuming it's just past Route 101 right?"

Prof. Birch nodded his head "yup, and Route 103 is just past Oldale. All you'll need to do is head north. You'll find him in no time, the distance between here and Route 103 isn't far, it's only about a mile and a half."

"Alright Prof. Birch" May said as she opened the door, letting the sun shine into the lab "I'll have him over her in no time!" and with that, she exited the lab and made her way to Route 101.

_"A favor? Going to see Brendan a favor? Ha, I would call that a reward!"_

* * *

After running down Littleroot's dirt paths for a short time, she reached the sign that signaled the end of Littleroot and the start of Route 101. She stopped for a moment to look at the empty path.

_"Where it all began"_ she thought to herself as she walked down the dirt road and entered Route 101. As she went down the wide path, it felt unfamiliar to her.

"Route 101 seems different."

May looked around, trying to figure out what it was. Perhaps it was the sunlight that lit everything up and made her feel less vulnerable, or maybe it was her recovered tolerance for pokemon. Whatever it was, Route 101 didn't seem as scary as it did when she saved Prof. Birch from the mad Poochyena.

"Whatever" May said as she shrugged off the feeling and continued on her merry way.

* * *

After walking through Route 101 for about ten minutes, May came upon a town slightly larger than Littleroot called Oldale Town. While the two were alike in many ways: Both were surrounded by lush Evergreens, was small and quiet for the most part, and had a quaint feel to it. That's were the similarities ended though. One huge difference between Littleroot and this Oldale Town was that Oldale seemed really dull, mundane, and...lame, yeah that's the word, lame. Maybe it was because this wasn't May's new home, but it didn't have that same spark of life that Littleroot had. It was almost as if nothing happened there, one of those towns you would pass by and not look twice. The only redeeming qualities in May's sapphire eyes was the main street of the town. It was home to many plain family-run shops and a single diner, giving the town a nice 50s feel to it. Other than that, the town was a real snooze fest.

Despite the town's unappealing nature, May soaked in all the sights into her memory. After all, it is the first town she had ever traveled to on her own. It was like a milestone for her, the start of her journey...sort of.

Soon May found herself at the end of town, looking at a sign that read: _"Route 103 up ahead."_

"Good, almost there. The sooner I find Brendan, the sooner I can truly start my journey" May said as she walked down the path.

Route 103 was a lot like Route 103 except it was a bit wider, and had a large clearing on the east side of the path that revealed a waterway. May looked toward the beautiful blue water, the sunlight glistening off the waves making them sparkle. Aquatic birds flew overhead, "Wingull!" they squawked as they flew past May's line of sight. She stood there for a moment, forgetting her urgency to find Brendan as quickly as possible. She had never seen such natural beauty in this world. She closed her eyes as the sea breeze blew onto her face, carrying with it the scent of the vast sea. In this moment, she knew this was the start of something important in her life. She knew not what it was, but knew she would find it in this beautiful place they called Hoenn.

After the tranquil moment, May sighed a content sigh and continued down the path. Minutes passed, and the path tilted slightly uphill, with the forestry starting to recede inwards. May knew the path was coming to an end.

_"Where is that cute son of a wonderful lady?"_ May thought to herself. She was soon answered by the sight of a familiar white hat.

May couldn't keep a smile from forming on her face as she approached the oblivious boy who was talking to himself like a weirdo, while writing something down on a piece of paper.

"Okay, so it's this one and that one that live on Route 103..." Brendan muttered to himself, still unaware of the beautiful presence behind him.

May crept closer and closer, somewhat surprised (and shocked) at his seemingly lack of perception.

_"Jeez, this guy would've been mugged so easily in Goldenrod..."_

May inched closer and closer, until she was practically behind him, and with a soft friendly voice uttered "Hi Brendan!"

Brendan jumped and quickly spun around. "Wha-oh hi May!" he greeted once he looked down to see May smiling face staring at him "didn't hear you come up on me. You're like a Meowth." Brendan then started to make hissing sounds and pretend-clawed at May to simulate the behaviors of a Meowth.

May giggled at his childish antics. "You're so weird."

This made Brendan immediately stop. "O-Oh really" he said embarrassed as he looked down to hide his blushing face "didn't mean to be, I was just trying to be friendly..."

"I was just kidding" May said as she patted his shoulder to reassure him she didn't mean anything by her comment "in fact, I thought it was kind of cute."

"Oh okay" Brendan said as he immediately perked up and his face became its normal shade of white "I just didn't want to weird you out is all."

"Hey, we all do..." May was about to say weird, but quickly thought of a replacement "funny things sometimes. It's just something we humans do hehe..."

"I hope you're right" Brendan muttered as he scratched the back of his neck, he did this whenever he was nervous "so May, what are you doing out here? This is a pretty far walk from Littleroot."

May suddenly remembered why she had come out here in the first place "oh right, I almost forgot. Your dad sent me over here to tell you to go back to the lab. Says he has a task for the both of us."

"Really?" Brendan said intrigued "any idea what it is?"

May shook her head "no idea, but I think it's going to involve us traveling around Hoenn."

Brendan gasped, shocked by May's words "Really?! Traveling throughout Hoenn! So cool!"

"I know right!" May exclaimed in agreement.

"Wait" Brendan said, ceasing the small celebration "_you_ are going to travel around Hoenn?"

"Uhhh yeah" May replied with her hands on her hips "why do you ask?"

"Because you don't have any pokemon...do you?"

May nodded her head and unclipped her pokeball from her belt "your dad gave me one becau-well he just gave me one."

_"We'll leave it at that."_

"Hey that's great!" Brendan proclaimed, not bothering to question why his father had given her one of his pokemon "since you have a pokemon now, how bout we have ourselves a little battle!"

"A battle!" May exclaimed surprised. She had never been in one before, except for the one against Poochyena, but Prof. Birch sort of walked her though that one. "I don't know..."

"Aw come on May!" Brendan pleaded as a mischievous smile formed on his face "don't be a wuss!"

"What! I'm no wuss!" May proclaimed as she pulled out her pokeball "I accept your challenge!"

"Alright!" Brendan cried excitedly as he unclipped his pokeball and threw it into the air. It opened midair, releasing a red swirl of enegy toward the ground that composed itself into a small blue four legged pokemon with a dark blue fin on his head, a dark blue tail, and orange protrusions on his cheeks.

"Mudkip!" the blue pokemon cried, ready to battle. _"Ahhhh, it's nice to get out of that pokeball...oh wait, a person standing opposite of my trainer...I'm in a battle. Okay, let's see what I can do!"_

May followed Brendan's actions and threw her pokeball into the air. It opened up and released a red swirl of energy that composed itself into May's Torchic.

"Tor Torchic!" he chirped, pumped for the battle. _"A battle, now!? Oh I'm so excited! I'll do the best I can!"_

"You ready May?" Brendan asked.

"Actually I have no idea how to battle..." May said blushing in embarrassment. "Oh there's no need to be embarrassed" Brendan said comfortingly "Look I'll tell you the basics."

"Really" May replied, her face reverting back to its normal brown tone "thanks!"

"No problem!" Brendan said cheerfully "a battle usually consists of two trainers, but four can participate. They send out their pokemon and each pokemon tries to knock out the other for the win. To make your pokemon attack, you have to tell it a move. I assume you don't know Torchic's attacks."

"I only know two" May answered "Ember and Scratch."

"Hey, you already know more than half of his attacks!" Brendan chuckled "all that's left is Growl. Growl is a move that lowers the opponent's attack, giving you the advantage. Now that you know his moves, do you think you're ready now?"

"Yeah, I think I'm ready!"

"Okay!, let's do this!" Brendan excitedly proclaimed "May you make the first move since you're a girl and a beginner."

"Fine by me" May replied "Torchic use Growl!"

Torchic nodded his head, and opened his beak to let a low guttural growl that took Mudkip off guard and lower his attack in the process.

A sudden adrenaline rush came over May as she clenched her fists. Pokémon battling was exhilarating! Her fear had gotten in the way of this wonderful experience when she battled Poochyena with Torchic by her side, but now without fear clouding her mind, she could experience the full joy of human and pokemon in honorable combat together.

_"Oh my, I'm so focused right now; it's as if I'm looking through Torchic's eyes!"_

"Don't let Torchic intimidate you!" Brendan yelled "use Tackle!"

Mudkip quickly sprang into action, moving his four legs at a rapid pace as he shot toward Torchic, slamming his tough head against him. "Torchic!" the little fire type cried in pain as the blow sent him reeling, but the Growl had weakened the Tackle, allowing Torchic to quickly compose himself.

_"Arrrg! I felt that blow with Torchic, right in the feels 'clutches heart'."_

"Torchic use Scratch!" May yelled. Torchic charged at Mudkip with grit and determination in his eyes. Before Brendan could tell Nudkip to dodge or counterattack, Torchic was on the little axolotl pokemon, raking his face and head with his sharp talons.

Brendan gasped, but acted quickly "Quick Mudkip use Water Gun!"

Mudkip, cringing in pain while Torchic slashed away at him, managed to lift his head up toward the fire type and open his mouth. He released a powerful jet of water that sent Torchic flying back towards May, with water drops flying off his orange feathers as he went.

Torchic!" May cried, looking down toward her pokemon with a concerned expression on her face.

"Tor..." Torchic chirped, trying his best to get back on his feet.

"C'mon Torchic, you can pull through!"

"Let's finish this" Brendan said as he looked down toward his water type "use Water Gun one more time.

The injured Mudkip opened his mouth and shot out another powerful gush of pressurized water towards Torchic.

"Dodge it Torchic!" May yelled, confident here partner could execute her command. Her faith was well placed as Torchic sprang to his feet, and jumped to the side, narrowly evading the stream of water.

"Now use Ember to keep him at bay, and start closing in on him!"

"Tor!" Torchic chirped as he began to fire bursts of hot projectiles from his beak. The shots were aimed at Mudkip, forcing him to keep on his feet and not giving him a chance to counterattack while Torchic nimbly drew closer to him.

"Roll out of the way and use Mud Slap!" Brendan yelled.

Mudkip instead of jumping away at the fire bursting around his feet, rolled away from the bombardment, just in time too because Torchic had reached jumping distance and had leapt toward him with his talons ready to dish out another round of lacerations. With his body safely away from Torchic and sharp talons, he quickly shot a weak burst of water at the ground, making it muddy, then used his flat tail to sweep a large clump at Torchic's face.

"Chic!" Torchic cried in pain as he tried desperately to shake the mud off of his face.

"Now use Water Gun one last time!" Brendan yelled.

Mudkip nodded and aimed his mouth at Torchic, then opened it. A large volume of pressurized water escaped the open crevice and barreled toward the little fire type.

_"Oh no!"_

_SPLASH_

"Tor!"

The super-effective attack was a critical hit. It sent Torchic skidding back to May in a cloud of dust knocked out.

"Torchic!" May gasped as she ran over toward her defeated pokemon and petted him gently "oh my poor little vato..." she unclipped her pokeball and returned him back into it "get some rest Torchic, you deserve it."

Brendan walked over to May, still on her knees, and patted her shoulder "don't be too down May, you actually did really-"

Suddenly May spun around with a smile on her face "I'm not down."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" May exclaimed as she got back onto her feet "that was SO exhilarating, I have never experienced something so heart pounding in my life!"

"Hehe, well that's a pokemon battle for you" Brendan chuckled "and you're not half bad, I got a little worried there when you Torchic started slashing away at my Mudkip."

"Well your Mudkip was really tough too!" May complimented "you really raised him well."

"Aww thanks" Brendan said, shying away from May because of his blushing face.

"Anyway, you won fair and square" May said as she held out her hand "it was an honor to have my first battle with you."

Brendan looked back toward May and shook her hand "it was an honor battling you too."

_"God she has beautiful eyes..."_

After the handshake, the two teens stood silent, staring at each other. Both smiled while they waited for the other to continue the conversation. Suddenly the mood became tense, and cheeks became red. Finally Brendan spoke up.

"You know, our pokemon did get roughed up quite a bit. How bout we go heal them at the pokemon center in Oldale Town before going back to my dad's lab?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me" May replied "liderar el camino ese."

"What?"

"Lead the way" May replied, slightly embarrassed she talked to him in Spanish, something she reserved for her old friends, or the cholos on her street occasionally. Brendan shrugged, and started walking down Route 103, back to Oldale with May following close behind.

* * *

After walking for a short time, May and Brendan found themselves in Oldale Town once again. Brendan lead May down the small town's main street until they reached a fairly large building mostly white, except for its roof which was red, probably to make it easily spotted at a distance.

"This" Brendan started as he outstretched his arms in the direction of the building "is a pokemon center. Almost all cities and towns have one. Just look for the red roof."

"Oh okay, that's something I'll need to remember" May said, pretending to lock the information inside her head.

Brendan smiled at the childish act "huh, I guess we all do funny things at times."

"Wha..." May mumbled as Brendan opened the door for her to let her inside. "Thanks" May said sweetly, still trying to figure out the meaning of Brendan's statement, and went inside. Brendan followed in after her.

Once inside, May gave the interior of the pokemon center the once over. The walls were white and pristine, numerous chairs and sofas littered what appeared to be a lounge (currently occupied by younger kids who May assumed were pokemon trainers), and a counter with a smiling nurse behind it. May and Brendan walked up to the counter to greet the nurse.

"Why hello!" the nurse greeted warmly "how can I help you two?"

"Can you heal our pokemon ma'am?" Brendan asked politely. The nurse gave him a cheerful smile "but of course! Just hand them to me, and I'll have them healed and ready to go."

May and Brendan both unclipped their respective pokeballs and handed them to the nurse. The nurse grabbed them and walked over to a sort of healing apparatus that was situated behind her, and placed the red and white spheres inside. Then she walked back toward the counter, her footsteps were surprisingly loud...almost metallic.

"They'll be ready soon" the nurse said warmly.

"Thanks..." May said, but realized she did not know the nurse's name "I didn't catch your name, what is it?

"Well" the nurse started "My full name is Silph Co. ARN No.0011, but most refer to me as Nurse Joy."

"W-Wha?" May said confused.

"She's a robot" Brendan informed May "the Silph Company over in Kanto created them a while back."

"Wow!" May exclaimed amazed as she looked at the realistic android "she's so lifelike!"

"Thanks" Nurse Joy giggled "the Silph Company believed that trainers would be more at ease letting their pokemon be cared for by a humanoid android rather than some robot arm or mechanical metal framed robot. So far, we've been a hit with most people hehe!"

"Yeah, they should be since they are the best quality robots on the market, made to the best of standards...so I've heard" Brendan muttered.

"Hehe, we're so top quality we break down very easily!" Nurse Joy proclaimed, taking the two teens by surprise "oops, shouldn't have said that" the robot giggled "my programing tells me not to mention the high quality, yet fragile materials my mainframe and circuits are made of, but my personality module tells me to say otherwise!"

"Quite the dilemma" May muttered "listen to your programing, or module..."

"Sure is!" Nurse Joy chuckled "but that's enough about me. Why don't you two wait in the lounge" she suggested.

"Sure" both May and Brendan said as they walked over to the lounge, and sat on one of the many sofas. As Brendan sat on the sofa, May playfully nudged his side.

"What was that for?'

"I finally figured out what you meant outside" May giggled "using my own words against me didn't you."

"Yeah" Brendan chuckled as he scratched the back of his neck "so my dad gave you a pokemon, and we're going to complete a task that involves us going all across Hoenn. You must be excited cause I sure am!"

"I sure am!" May proclaimed "you don't know how long I've wanted to do something like this."

"Why didn't you?" Brendan asked "I mean, you _did_ live over in Johto. You're old enough to own a pokemon, so why didn't you travel throughout Johto?"

"Uhh that" May muttered, fiddling with her fingers "well...over in Johto, you had to pay for one of the starters. My family didn't have enough money for that, so I had to work and save money to buy one. I almost had enough when..." May stopped before she got to the next part of her sentence "...I-I just stopped."

"You just stopped?" Brendan asked confused "you worked for what I assume to be quite a long time, considering you can own pokemon legally at ten years old and your fifteen, and then...you just stopped? Out of the blue? Why?"

"No reason" May replied, still fiddling with her fingers. She didn't want to tell him about her previous fear, because that would lead to a conversation about what happened to her old friend, and she didn't like talking about that.

"I don't think you're telling me everything" Brendan muttered as he squinted his eyes and scrutinized her "but whatever it is you don't want to tell me, that's okay. I'll respect your privacy."

May nodded and looked down at the floor, still fiddling with her fingers. It appeared to Brendan that bringing up Johto and her past really troubled her. She had gone to the bubbly girlish type, to serious very serious and quiet. Brendan didn't like this May, so he decided to bring the old one back by bringing up a new topic to discuss.

"So May..."

"Yeah" May said softly as she looked up from the floor and towards Brendan "what is it?"

"Have you thought about attempting the Pokémon League Challenge?"

"No I haven't!" May said, reverting back to her happy self (much to Brendan's delight) "do you really think I have what it takes?"

"Sure do" Brendan replied "after that battle with you, I know that you have what it takes...I mean, it was your first battle and you almost beat me!"

May blushed "awww, thanks Brendan!" she said as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a somewhat friendly hug (but unconsciously, she just wanted to be close to him) "that's really sweet of you to say."

Brendan didn't reply. He was caught off guard (once again!) by May's action, and he was loving it.

"Oh my..." He thought to himself as he hugged her back, his hands instinctively moving up and down her back. May noticed this and said nothing. Why would she? She was enjoying it.

"May and Brendan!" Nurse Joy called out "you're pokemon are fully healed!"

The two broke away from their embrace.

"Oh...uh sorry abo-"

"No, no it's fine" May interrupted, her face flustered "let's just get our pokemon and head back to Littleroot."

"Yeah" Brendan agreed. The two picked up their pokemon, said thank you to Nurse Joy, and left Oldale.

* * *

The two were silent as they walked down Route 101, still embarrassed from their embrace in the pokemon center. Brendan stood silent, scratching his neck, ashamed and in disbelief that he basically groped May. He hoped that she wouldn't think he did that on purpose, and that it was accidental. It sort of was...sort of, because half of him knew full well what he was doing.

May on the other hand was fiddling her fingers while whistling the tune to _Jetliner_. She was embarrassed because she let herself get groped by Brendan. She tried telling herself it was accidental, and he didn't mean it, but she knew even if it wasn't, and he DID do it on purpose she still would've let him. That thought made her berate herself internally.

_"Not really making it hard are you"_ May thought to herself_ "jeez May get it together. For all you know, this poor guy doesn't even find you attractive, and your practically jumping on him. That could be considered rape...Oh GOD, I'M A RAPIST!"_ May took a quick glance over at Brendan. He didn't seem hurt or in discomfort _"or maybe not 'whew'. Still though, you can't just throw yourself at him. It just isn't right. For now, you keep your relationship with him a friendly one, because I'd rather be just friends, then completely scare him off and cause him to distance himself from me."_

After walking for a few more minutes, the duo found themselves back in Littleroot, facing the entrance to Prof. Birch's lab. They opened the doors and went inside.

"Hey dad!" Brendan greeted, making Prof. Birch turn around to face the two teens. "Ah good, you're both back" the professor said as the duo got closer "hope you didn't have any trouble on the way there May."

"I didn't" May replied "it was a pretty uneventful walk..."

"Until she finally found me!" Brendan interrupted "then we had a battle!"

"A battle huh" Prof. Birch chuckled, and then turned toward May "how did that end up for you?"

"I lost" May said without flinching "but it was pretty fun either way."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"So dad!" Brendan said, gaining his dad's attention. He could barely contain his excitement "May told me about some task that will have us traveling through Hoenn, is that true?"

Prof. Birch nodded, making Brendan even more restless.

"What is it!?"

"Since you're both here I can tell you" Prof. Birch said as he gestured the two to follow him to his desk. He picked up the now open package, and held it up above May and Brendan's heads.

"You both know as a pokemon professor, my duty is to study pokemon. Unfortunately I'm not able to travel far since my lab is here in Littleroot. It just so happens that Professor Oak over in Kanto has invented a portable encyclopedia that automatically records data from any pokemon you encounter."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Brendan proclaimed with his eyes wide in amazement.

"Odelay!" May said cheerfully. Both Brendan and Prof. Birch looked at her with a puzzled exprsession on their faces.

"What?" May asked, her face now flustered "just a little slang."

"Oh" Prof. Birch replied "well back to the pokedexes. I just received two from Prof. Oak this morning, and I want you two to use them to help me with, by documenting all the pokemon that live in the Hoenn Region!"

"That's awesome!" Brendan exclaimed "we'll start right away!"

"Love your enthusiasm son" Prof. Birch said as he handed him and May a pokedex.

Once May received hers, her brilliant blue orbs lit up with curiosity and awe. "Wow" she muttered as she ran her finger along the sleek surface of the high tech encyclopedia. It was a peculiar thing, a red rectangle that flipped open she assumed since there was a slit along the perimeter of the contraption. Being a Neanderthal when it came to technology, she started to pull at the slit, trying to pry the pokedex open. Brendan's hand came into her view as he pressed a button on the side of her pokedex. It immediately flipped open.

"Oh, so that's how you open it..." May muttered a little embarrassed.

"I'm just glad I did that before you pulled out a rock to bust that thing open" Brendan chuckled, flashing her a witty smile.

"Run along now" Prof. Birch said as he made a shooing motion with his hands "you have a long journey ahead of you!"

"You can count on us dad, c'mon May!" Brendan said excitedly as he grabbed May's wrist and pulled her towards the door.

"Oh and May, your mom wants to talk to you quickly before you go" Prof. Birch called out before his son dragged the petite girl out of the lab. "Thanks for the info Prof. Birch" May said as Brendan reached the door and opened it. She only had time to say one more thing "and thanks for the pokedexes, we won't let you-"

May was cut off by the door closing. Prof. Birch chuckled to himself "I guess this time it's Brendan who's dragging her off hehe..."

* * *

"Down" May said just as the door closed on her.

"Wow this is gonna be so cool!" Brendan proclaimed as he continued dragging her off "and I can't believe we're starting RIGHT now, like literally this second!"

"Not right this second" May replied "my mom wants to see me first."

"Oh okay" Brendan said as he changed his direction from Route 101 to May's house, all while still holding her wrist.

"Uh Brendan, you can let go now."

"Wha?" Brendan mumbled as he turned his head, and saw May sliding behind him. "Oops sorry!" he chuckled as he let go of May's wrist "I totally forgot I was holding you. I was just so excited to get going."

"I can see that" May muttered as she rubbed her wrists "Pretty damn strong aren't you, Got a tight grip."

"Yeah, I guess I am" Brendan replied as he looked over to May's house "well we're here. Where's your mom?"

"Probably inside" May replied "want to come in?"

Brendan shook his head "naw, I'm still really full of energy. I don't think I can be in an enclosed space right now." May looked at him and saw he wasn't kidding. Just standing was making his legs tremble.

"Alright then, I'll be right back" she said as she went into her house, leaving Brendan to pace around feverishly outside.

* * *

"Hi mom!" May greeted as soon as she entered and saw her sitting on the couch.

"Hey honey!" Caroline exclaimed as she quickly went over to May and hugged her tightly "I can't believe you've got over your fear already! I'm so proud of you!"

May giggled "I guess Prof. Birch told you already."

Caroline nodded "yup, and your dad called a while ago and filled me in on the news too." Caroline then sighed "You're finally going to be able to go on your own little journey. I'm so happy for you, it seems like years when you were working just to make enough money to buy you're trainer clothes and save up for one of the Johto starters. Seemed so long ago, even though it's only been a year..."

"But today's the day I finally do it!" May proclaimed "and I'd rather it happen late then never."

"Then I won't keep you" Caroline said as she released May from her embrace "just please stay safe okay."

"I will mom" May nodded and gave her mom a kiss on the cheek "goodbye, I'll miss you..."

May turned to leave, but Caroline's hand grasped her shoulder and stopped her from leaving.

"Wait."

May turned around "what is it mom?"

"I have something that I was going to give you when you started your journey in Johto, but after the...incident, I thought I'd wait to give it to you. I don't know why, I guess I had hope you would get over your funk, and regain the drive to accomplish your dream. I guess I was right huh, hehe..." Caroline pushed the hair away from her neck to reveal a thread wrapped around her. She lifted the thread over her head, showing a jade pendant on the end. She then put the thread around May's neck, letting the pendant fall gently onto her bosom. May lifted the pendant to her eyes, to get a better look at it. She noticed it had the carving of some kind of serpentine dragon on it. She ran her hand over the carving, it was surprisingly smooth.

"That pendant has been down from generations and generations of Mendoza women" Caroline informed May "now it is time to pass it down to you."

May gave the pendant another rub. "It's beautiful" she muttered, tearing her eyes away from the eerily eye appealing pendant and back toward her mother "thank you mom."

"It was my pleasure honey" Caroline replied "now go on, you got a dream to fulfill!"

May nodded and went back outside.

* * *

"That was quick" Brendan commented, still pacing feverishly "what did she want?"

"Oh she just wanted to say goodbye is all" May replied, placing her pendant under her shirt. She looked up at the sky, now shaded with a pink hue signaling that the evening had come. "Well I'm gonna get going..."

"Wait!" Brendan yelled before May could start walking. She turned around and faced him "what is it?"

"I thought we were going to travel together" Brendan answered.

May's cheeks grew a little pink (despite her brown skin), as a mischievous smile formed on her face "oh, you want to travel with me do you..."

Brendan nodded "yeah why not? Unless you want to travel alo-"

"No I don't mind" May interrupted "in fact, I would really enjoy your company."

"Alright!" Brendan proclaimed "let's go then, look out Hoenn, here we come!" Brendan turned toward May "come on May, say it with me."

May giggled "okay, look out Hoenn, here we come!"

The two teens then started down Route 101, giggling and filled with optimism and excitement. They knew not what lay ahead of them, but one thing was certain: They're journey had began.

_**This chapter was edited on 8/15/2014.**_


	4. Hearts From Hoenn-May's First Catch

**I want to warn you readers that this chapter contains a scene of torture. Personally I don't think it's graphic at all, but I do not want to offend any of you that are uncomfortable with this sort of material. So to avoid offending anybody I will provide warnings on where the scene starts and ends so you can skip it. Please comment if you have an issue with the scene or chapter, and please review. I hope you enjoy!**

** Hearts From Hoenn/Route 102- May's First Catch**

_"C'mon Jonathan hurry up!" yelled a 7 year old Juan._

_"I'm coming I'm coming, hold your ponytas!" 7 year old Jonathan yelled back, his short legs struggling to keep up with his energetic friend._

_The two youngsters ran down the busy streets of Sootopolis City._

_"Jeez you're slower than a Slowpoke!" Juan yelled as he continued running down the street._

_"Shut up!" Jonathan yelled running as fast as he could to keep up with his friend._

_"Hurry up Jonathan the park is just around the corner!" Juan said as he ran down the sidewalk, turning to the left as he hit the corner of the street._

_"Wait up!" Jonathan yelled as he too turned the corner._

_"Man you sure are slow, I almost died of old age waiting for you" Juan exaggerated as Jonathan gasped for air._

_"No…fair…you had a head start" Jonathan replied panting between words._

_"Excuses, Excuses" Juan replied as the pair entered the park._

_The sound of laughter and innocence rang through their ears; all around them children played having an all around good time._

_"So Juan, what do you wanna play on? Swings, Mankey bars, the slide?" "Actually I wanted to play hide and seek." Juan replied. "Really hide and seek? We could play that anywhere" Jonathan protested._

_"Aw c'mon, please!" Juan pleaded. "Oh alright" Jonathan reluctantly agreed._

_"Alright!" Juan exclaimed happily "okay, close your eyes and count too ten and no peeking!" Juan warned._

_"I won't" Jonathan said as he covered his eyes with his hands, the children's laughter still permeating throughout the park._

_"1…_

_2…_

_3…_

_4…_

_5" when Jonathan reached 5 the laughter stopped, the park was dead silent. "That's weird" Jonathan thought._

_"6…_

_7…_

_8…_

_9…_

_10 ready or not here I come!" Jonathan moved his hands away from his eyes revealing an empty playground. There was no sign of Juan or the other children._

_"Hello" Jonathan said aloud hoping for a response. An eerie silence answered him._

_"This is giving me the creeps" he said to himself as he started searching for Juan._

_5 minutes passed, then 15 and still no sign of Juan or the other children._

_"Alright Juan this isn't funny, come out already!" he yelled angrily._

_"You killed us…"_

_"What?!" Jonathan spun towards the source of the voice, nothing._

_"You killed us"_

_Again Jonathan spun around revealing nothing but thin air._

_"S-show yourself" Jonathan stammered his heart pounding rapidly._

_"It's all your fault"_

_Jonathan turned around once again, only this time two figures stood before him with their backs to him._

_One of the figures was a little girl in a pink nightgown. The other one was taller, with a gown like growth covering its legs; he recognized it as the pokemon Gardevoir._

_"You killed us"_

_"No it wasn't my fault!" Jonathan yelled taking himself by surprise with his deep adult voice. Jonathan looked at his hands; they were no longer a small child's hands, but large rugged man hands._

_"You killed us" the emotionless voice said yet again._

_"No I didn't damnit!"_

_"It's all your fault"_

_"No, please stop tormenting me!" he pleaded falling to his knees, and covering his ears to block the voice._

_"You killed us"_

_"No!"_

_"It's all your fault"_

_"NOOOO!"_

* * *

Jonathan gasped for air as he lifted himself off his desk. "It-It was just a dream" the six foot four 49 year old man told himself as his chest heaved in and out as his lungs took in air.

Jonathan ran his hand over his shaved head as he got up from his desk. "I need a drink" he said pulling whiskey and shot glass out from his desk.

He poured the liquor into the shot glass and drank it in one swift gulp.

"Awww that hits the spot!" he said wiping some of the liquor off his moustache and beard.

He poured another glass and walked over toward the window in his beautiful art deco stylized executive office overlooking the beautiful city of Lilycove.

His angry scared face reflected back at him. He stared down onto the city from the tallest building in Lilycove City, the Hearts From Hoenn Headquarters which stood at a whopping 2,722 feet.

It towered over Lilycove the largest most beautiful city in all of Hoenn, as a symbol of the organization's power. The bright lights from the smaller buildings, cars, malls, theaters, and giant lit billboards advertising everything from new movies to the Hearts From Hoenn's own products. twinkled below him in the black of night. Jonathan shook his hand in a circular motion causing the whiskey to spin in the shot glass. A knock came at his door.

"Come in" Jonathan grumbled as a man in dark military fatigues walked into the room.

"Sir, the potential Aqua Diglett (mole) will not comply with us, we have tried 'persuading' him but he will not budge. We need further orders from you" the man said to Jonathan.

"Looks like I have to do everything myself" Jonathan muttered "take me to him."

The pair left the office and into a long hallway. They walked down the hallway until they reached an art deco stylized elevator and went in. Jonathan looked at the buttons on the elevator that took you to different floors, and slid a small shaft beneath the buttons open. Inside the shaft were four other buttons that read B1, B2, B3, and B4.

Jonathan pushed B4 and the elevator began to descend. "So where'd you find him?" Jonathan asked.

"We found him stationed at Rustboro City; he hasn't spoken to any of us yet. That's why I came to you."

"We don't need him to talk with us yet, we just need him to work with us. I know what Team Aqua is up to in Rustboro, but we need to know more, what their next movements are, so we need a diglett (mole) in their organization" Jonathan said.

"He's only a grunt sir" the man informed.

"He has ears" Jonathan said as the elevator came to a halt.

The elevator opened revealing a long gray corridor lit only by a line of fluorescent lights. The two walked down the corridor until they reached a steel door. The uniformed man opened the door and the two went inside a small windowless room only inhabited by two chairs, a table, and a Team Aqua grunt with a single spotlight lamp illuminating his battered face.

* * *

**WARNING START OF TORTURE SCENE**

"Here he is" the uniformed man said gesturing toward the Team Aqua grunt tied up in the chair.

The grunt had been beaten. He had two black eyes, bruised cheeks, a busted lip, a broken nose, and a deep bleeding gash above his right eye.

"He refuses to comply, so we've been trying to persuade him" the man said to Jonathan.

Jonathan walked over to the Aqua grunt coughing out blood. "Why are you making things so difficult?" Jonathan said raising the grunt's head with his hand to look him in the eye.

"I'm no traitor" the grunt stammered "I ain't doing nothing for you!" he yelled spitting on Jonathan's face.

"Well you've brought this upon yourself" Jonathan muttered wiping the bloody saliva from his face "bring out the bucket."

"Yes sir" the uniformed man said leaving the room, and coming back with a bucket of water and a rag draped over his shoulder.

Jonathan grabbed the back of the chair and slammed it to the ground so the Aqua grunt faced the ceiling.

"Put the rag on his face" Jonathan instructed.

"Wha-No!" the grunt pleaded as the man in the uniform placed the rag over the grunt's face. "L-look you d-don't have to do this, l-let's talk this out" the grunt begged, the rag muffling his voice.

"Oh you had plenty of time to talk" Jonathan replied sinisterly as he tilted the bucket, pouring the water over the grunt's rag covered face. The grunt struggled desperately in his ropes, blistering his wrists as he gurgled and coughed, drowning beneath the rag. Jonathan stopped to let the grunt breath.

"I don't know, he looks like he needs to be persuaded a little more, what do you think?" Jonathan chuckled turning toward the uniformed man. "I think he needs to be persuaded a little more sir!" the uniformed man replied.

"Well you heard the man…"

"No No wait plea-" the grunt was cut off as Jonathan poured more water onto him.

"C'mon you guys love water!" Jonathan said mockingly as he poured the water onto the struggling grunt's face until the bucket was empty. Jonathan then slammed the bucket onto the grunt's face causing the grunt to scream in pain.

"Pick him up" Jonathan ordered the uniformed man "and take the rag off his face." The man picked up the chair and removed the rag from the grunt's face revealing a battered, bloody, broken man near unconsciousness.

"Hey wake up, wake up!" Jonathan said snapping his fingers near the grunt's face to get his attention.

"P-please no more…" the grunt said softly.

"I won't unless you don't want to cooperate" Jonathan replied.

"Well I really don't have a choice now do I?" the grunt said broken.

"No no, of course you have a choice!" Jonathan said with an evil smile "you can cooperate and live, or you can stay loyal to your organization, and I'll have my friend over here bring me my chainsaw and I'll cut you up into little pieces. Then I'll feed ya to my Mightyenas."

"I-I'll do whatever you want, just tell me what to do" the grunt stammered.

"Good, that's a smart decision" Jonathan said still smiling. "Now all I want you to do is to keep tabs on your organization for me, that's all."

"R-really? That's all you want me to do!?" the grunt said incredulously.

"Yes! That's all I wanted, see what a big deal you made out of all this. If you just cooperated in the first place, I wouldn't have had to water board you" Jonathan said nonchalantly.

The grunt mustered up all the courage he had left and asked "why do you want to know what my organization is up too?"

Jonathan grabbed the grunt by his hair and started slamming his head against the back of the chair repeatedly. "YOU DON'T GET TO FUCKING ASK QUESTIONS! YOU JUST DO AS YOU'RE FUCKING TOLD, GOT IT!" Jonathan yelled heaving with rage.

"G-got it" the grunt said trying his best to hold back his tears.

"Good!" Jonathan said as he turned toward the uniformed man "clean him up."

**End of Torture Scene**

* * *

_"Stay with me Nick, please stay with me!" May pleaded as she held her dying friend in her arms, trying her best to keep her eyes away from the sinewy mess of flesh and broken bones that was once his left arm "please don't die..."_

_"May..." the boy said pulling a flask from a pocket on his red flannel shirt and handing it to her with his trembling hand as he slowly started to go into shock "Pour a little for me...and move on..." The boy's eyes slowly lost their life as he died with his hazel eyes open._

_"NO!" May yelled, shaking her best friend "you can't die, you can't!"_

May gasped as she sat upright from the her bed in the Oldale Town pokemon center's guest room. She breathed heavily, her whole body trembling. She looked around the lightly furnished room.

"Shit...not these dreams again" May muttered as she rubbed her eyes, crusted with the residue of dried tears. May looked over to the alarm clock on the dresser beside her.

"5:03" she muttered as she took a deep breath and lifted herself off her bed to go to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. The bathroom was porcelain white, a little bland for May's taste but hey what do you expect from a Pokemon Center bathroom. May turned the knobs for the shower releasing a flow of water from the shower head. As she waited for the temperature to get just right she began to undress. The cold morning air hit her naked form making her shiver. She quickly jumped into the shower. The warm water felt good on her cold skin. She proceeded to wash herself starting from her feet, all the way up to her head. The whole process took about 37 minutes. When she was finished, she turned the water off and wrapped herself in a white towel (courtesy of the Pokemon Center) as well as her freshly washed hair. May went into her room and got dressed. When she was finished dressing it was 5:46.

_"I should go brush my teeth"_ she thought and went back to the bathroom. It was 5:50 when she was done. "Well I guess I'll go wake up Brendan" she said to herself.

May left her room and went into the Oldale Town Pokemon Center's lounge. Brendan was sprawled on the lounge's sofa, sleeping soundly. May walked up to him "Brendan wake up!" she said softly nudging his back.

"What do you want?" Brendan grumbled sleepily.

"C'mon let's have some breakfast so we can start heading to Petalburg" May replied. What she really wanted was some company after her troubling dream.

Brendan looked at his watch. "May, its 5:52 in the morning" he said annoyed.

"Well it's a long walk to Petalburg isn't it?" May shot back, hoping Brendan would give up and head to the diner with her.

"May, Nurse Joy isn't even awake yet" Brendan replied. "Look I'm going back to sleep, I suggest you do the same" and with that he went back to sleep.

"Chale" May muttered annoyed. "Well I'm going to have breakfast. I'll be waiting over at the diner."

see you then" Brendan mumbled sleepily as May exited the Pokemon Center. It was still dark out, the sun had not yet risen. All of Oldale still seemed to be sleeping.

"Maybe I should have slept more" May muttered rubbing both her arms to keep warm in the cold dawn air. May started down the main street looking at the different shops. She passed Pokemarts, Pokeball stores, herbal stores with pretty ferns in pots out front, etc.

_"This sucks all the stores are closed"_ May thought to herself _"I hope the diner isn't..."_ May continued to walk down the street she caught whiff of a sweet aroma, it was the diner, it was open!

Inside she could see it was busy; people sitting at tables and eating, waitresses taking orders while rushing to and from the kitchen and their patrons. May's stomach grumbled.

"Well I guess that means it's time to eat!" May entered the diner and was approached by a waitress

"Hello, welcome to the Oldale Town Diner. Are you alone, or with a group?" the waitress asked.

"Oh, uh I'm in a group, but the other person is on his way here" May replied "I'm sure he'll be here soon."

The waitress nodded smiling, "well let me escort you to your table." May followed the waitress to a table with two chairs.

May sat down as the waitress handed her a menu. "I'll be back in a jiffy to take your order" the waitress said as she headed back into the kitchen.

May looked at the menu "oh my god" she thought to herself eyes sparkling as she saw all the wonderful meals on the menu. They had pancakes, omelets, scrambled eggs, bacon, etc.

"I think I'll have the chocolate chip pancakes" May thought to herself as she placed the menu on the table.

"Now back to our 2 hour special honoring 22 years of the pharmaceutical company Hearts From Hoenn." May turned around to face a T.V situated at the corner of the diner.

"During its many years, Hearts From Hoenn have led to the invention of many products that advance the welfare of pokemon. Such products include the Full Restore, Max Potion, Full Heal, Rare Candy, and Pokemon Vitamins, but the real highlights of this amazing organization is its philanthropic endeavors. Hearts From Hoenn has helped fund institutions and organizations that specialize in fields such as pokemon research, ecology, and green technology. Hearts From Hoenn have also helped create advanced early warning weather systems to help advert future natural disasters such as the Mount Chimney Disaster 27 years ago…"

"May I take your order now?" May looked up to see a smiling waitress hovering over her.

"Oh uh…" Before May could say anything she saw Brendan enter the diner. "Excuse me ma'am" May politely said to the waitress "of course" the waitress replied smiling.

"Brendan! Brendan over here!" May said waving to get his attention.

"Oh there you are" he said as he walked over towards May's table.

"Hello" the waitress greeted still smiling, as she handed Brendan a menu. "Oh thanks" Brendan said gratefully as he took his seat at the table.

"So ma'am what will you be having?" the kind waitress said turning to May. "Oh yes, I'll have the chocolate chip pancakes."

"How about you sir?" the waitress said turning toward Brendan. "I'll just have some hash browns" he replied.

"Okay I'll be right back with your meals" and with that the waitress went back into the kitchen once more. "Just hash browns?" May said smiling.

"Yeah, what of it?" Brendan asked.

"Don't you think you should eat a little more, we'll be walking for quite some time" May informed him.

"Well…I'm kind of on a diet" he replied a little embarrassed.

"Oh I see, counting calories huh" May said giggling "who are you trying to impress?" "N-nobody!" Brendan replied blushing fiercely.

"Oh I'm just messing with you, there's nothing wrong with watching your weight…even if you are trying to impress someone."

"I'm not!" he protested turning even redder.

"Those Hearts From Hoenn guys are really something huh" May said changing the subject.

"Huh" Brendan said still red in the face "what guys?" May nodded toward the T.V "oh the Hearts From Hoenn, yeah they're real nice hell they built my dad's pokemon lab" he informed her, forgetting the earlier subject.

"Wow that's pretty generous of them" May replied "but I'm sure there's something not so family friendly they're hiding under the guise of charity..."

"What do you mean?"

May opened her mouth to answer him "May, Brendan your breakfasts are ready!" the waitress interrupted as she placed their meals on the table "enjoy!"

"Thanks" the two trainers both said to the waitress.

"Oh my, this looks really tasty!" May said fork in hand.

* * *

**20 Minutes Later...**

"Boy did that fill me up" May told Brendan as they exited the diner. After her hearty meal and her refreshing shower earlier, she was beginning to feel better, she slowly started to forget about her dream.

"Well let's get going" Brendan said as the duo headed towards Route 102.

The morning sun shone down upon them as they entered Route 102. Route 102's path was very jagged and rugged, very different from both Route 101, and Route 103. The only thing it shared with the other routes was that it was flanked by dense Evergreens.

Brendan pulled out a small device from his backpack.

"What's that?" May asked. "This is a pokenav, it's a mobile phone and digital map all in one" he replied "I got it last year on my birthday."

"Wow that's so cool; I've never had anything like that before" may said gazing in awe at the sleek little contraption shaped like an oval.

"Really?" he asked in disbelief "you've never had anything like this?"

"Yeah, my parents couldn't afford to buy me nice things, so all the little extra things I have I worked for."

"That sucks, what kind of work did you do?" Brendan asked curiously.

"I would hang around construction or utility stores with a bunch of other people. Then people who needed help repairing their house would hire us to do it for them." May closed her eyes, remembering those hot summer days hanging around **Home Depot** hoping someone would hire her.

"What exactly did you do?" Brendan asked breaking her away from her memories.

"I put primer on houses we were going to repaint" May replied.

"Oh…well now that your dad is a gym leader he'll be able to buy you more expensive things" Brendan inquired.

"Maybe, but I really don't want stuff like that. I find entertainment in simpler things like exploring, travelling, nature, reading, YOU." May said jokingly, (unconsciously though she saw this as an opportunity to subtly flirt with him).

"Oh low blow, you hurt me so" Brendan said acting emotionally wounded by her comment.

"And the Oscar goes to…someone other than Brendan!" The two both laughed.

"Well at least someone finally found her sense of humor" Brendan chuckled slyly.

"Oh hardy har har" May said sarcastically.

"No one can beat us huh!" came a voice from down the path. "Yeah we're unstoppable!" came another voice.

"I wonder who that is" May pondered to herself.

"Let's see who it is!" May said grabbing Brendan's wrist. "W-wait, we don't even know who-" Brendan was unable to finish his sentence as May dragged him down the path towards the voices. They found the source of the voices, two seven year old boys.

"Hey look, two trainers!" said one of the boys. "Hi my name's May!" she greeted "and this es mi carnale Brendan!" "Hello" Brendan said nervously.

"Hi my name's Allen!" said one of the boys, "and my name's Billy!" said the other. "Together we can't be stopped!" the boys proclaimed in unison.

"Well well, Hey Brendan that sounds like a challenge!" May said pulling out her pokeball. "You're right May that does sound like a challenge" Brendan replied pulling out his pokeball "let's show them a real battle!"

"Fine with us!" both Allen and Billy replied. "Go Tailow!" Allen yelled releasing a small navy blue and white bird pokemon with red markings on its face from his pokeball. "Tailow!" it chirped ready for battle.

"Go Zigagoon!" Billy yelled. Out of his pokeball came a small brown striped energetic pokemon that resembled a raccoon. "Zigzagoon!" it cried running in circles chasing its own furry tail.

Brendan and May both pulled out their pokedexes to document the two boys' pokemon.

"_Tailow, the tiny swallow pokemon" came a feminine automated voice from the pokedexes "although it is small, it is very courageous. It will take on a larger Skarmory on an equal footing. However it will weaken if it becomes hungry."_

_"Zigzagoon the tiny raccoon pokemon. Rubbing its nose against the ground, it always wanders about back and forth in search something. It is distinguished by the zigzag footprints it leaves_."

"Go Mudkip!" Brendan yelled releasing his blue water type from its pokeball. "Mudkip!" he cried, tense and ready for battle._ "Another battle this soon? Oh well, I'll do my very best!"_

"Let's go Torchic!" May cried releasing her small fire type from its pokeball. "Torchic!" he chirped pumped and ready to throw down. _"Alright another battle! This time I won't lose!"_

"Ready May?" Brendan whispered turning toward May. "Always" she replied.

"Okay Zigzagoon, use Sand Attack!" Billy yelled as Zigzagoon used its hind legs to kick sand at its opponents. "Tailow use Gust to spread the sand onto both Mudkip and Torchic!" "Tailow!" it chirped flapping its wings rapidly, creating a whirlwind of sand that bore down on both Mudkip and Torchic.

"Mudkip block Torchic's eyes with your tail!" Mudkip nodded and covered Torchic's eyes with its tail as the whirlwind hit both pokemon.

"Brendan what are you doing?!" May yelled, ignorant to the fact that Brendan was doing this to protect Torchic.

"It doesn't make sense to have both our pokemon blinded and defenseless" Brendan informed her.

"You're right" May muttered realizing his intentions "Torchic when that whirlwind subsides use Growl!" May instructed. "Tor" Torchic replied in agreement letting out a low guttural growl from the bottom of its throat, lowering the attack of both Tailow and Zigzagoon.

"Use Wing Attack!" Allen yelled. "Tai-Low!" Tailow chirped as its wings started glowing as it glided straight toward Torchic with its wings extended.

_W-What do I do?! Oh I know!_

"Use Ember Torchic!" Hearing May's instructions, Torchic opened its mouth and released a swarm of fiery projectiles that struck Tailow with surprising force. "Tailow!" it cried as it crashed down onto the ground with a thud. it was knocked out.

"Good job Torchic!" May praised, astounded with the little pokemon's power. Torchic turned and nodded, happy to be applauded for his work.

"Oh no Tailow!" Allen cried running up to his defeated flying type.

"Don't worry Zigzagoon still has fight in him!" Billy said.

"Oh no you don't, Mudkip use Water Gun!" Mudkip opened its mouth releasing a jet of water.

"Dodge it Zigzagoon!" The Zigzagoon easily dodged the jets of water due to its speed, and Mudkip's lowered accuracy from the Sand Attack.

"Zigzagoon use Tackle!" Allen yelled "Zagoon!" it cried charging at Mudkip.

"Mudkip!" Mudkip cried in pain as Zigzagoon sent him flying towards a tree. "Kip!" it cried as it struck the tree with considerable force. "No Mudkip! Are you okay?!" Brendan yelled. "Mud…" Mudkip said weakly as it got back onto its four legs.

_"Poor Mudkip"_ May thought as her eyes caught sight of something fall from the tree and land on the ground.

"What's that?" May said curiously as she pulled out her pokedex.

_"Wurmple the worm pokemon" the pokedex said "It sticks to tree branches and eats leaves. The thread it spits from its mouth, which becomes gooey when it touches air, slows the movement of its foes."_

"Wurmple" it grumbled angrily as it unraveled itself. It was about a foot long, its body red and spiky on top, and smooth and tan on the bottom. It had ten spike like legs, as well as a big spike on its head, and two on its rear.

"It doesn't look too happy!" May said. "Yeah, I think we disturbed it while it was sleeping!" Brendan replied.

"Wurmple!" it cried as it shot long sticky strands of gooey fibers as Allen, Billy, Tailow, and Zigzagoon. "Ewww, what is it?!" Allen cried struggling in it. "Yeah, it's sticky!" Billy said trying to pull himself out of the sticky stuff.

"Wurmple used String Shot!" Brendan informed them, "hold on I'll get you out of it!" he said running toward them. "Wurmple!" it cried once more shooting poisonous barbs straight at Brendan.

"Brendan look out!" May cried her eyes wide in fear of Brendan's safety.

"Mudkip!" Mudkip exclaimed as it jumped in front of Brendan, taking the full force of the Poison Sting. "Oh no, Mudkip! Return!" Brendan cried as he recalled his injured pokemon.

"May, it's up to you to fend off that Wurmple!" Brendan exclaimed heading towards the tangled trainers and their pokemon.

The Wurmple set its eyes on May and Torchic, glaring at them with evil intent. May's palms began to sweat; her fear began to slowly creep over her. _"No, I thought I was over this!"_ May thought, trying her best to keep it from overwhelming her. "Tor-Torchic" he chirped as if he sensed her fear, and was trying to comfort her. _"Don't worry. You can do this, because we are a team. Just tell me what to do." _May nodded at Torchic, and much to her surprise, she saw him sparkle slightly.

"Wha-what was that?!" May asked dumbfounded.

"Torchic learned a new move!" Brendan yelled struggling to untie Allen from the threads.

May pulled out her pokedex. _"Torchic's known moves" _it said in an automated voice_ "Ember, Scratch, Growl, Focus Energy, Peck."_

"Peck huh" May mumbled to herself "let's put it to the test." She looked down at her pendant and took it into her hand "sky serpent give me your courage" she said to herself rubbing the pendant of Rayquaza between her index finger and thumb. She swallowed her fear and got into battle stance.

"Ready Torchic?" May asked. "Tor!" he replied ready to battle.

"Okay, use Growl!" May yelled. Torchic let out a low guttural growl. Wurmple flinched, but quickly retailiated using Poison Sting, shooting a flurry of poisonous darts at Torchic.

"Torchic use Ember!" May instructed. Torchic opened its beak spewing a plethora of fiery projectiles at Wurmple. The Ember projectiles made quick work of the darts and hit Wurmple. "Wurm!" he cried reeling from the blow, but quickly got back up and shot a flurry of white sticky threads at Torchic. The threads wrapped around Torchic tightly.

"Oh no Torchic!" May cried. Torchic struggled in his threads as Wurmple began his charge.

"May remember the new move!" Brendan yelled.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot" May said as Wurmple continued its charge.

"Wait for it…" May said as Wurmple got closer to Torchic "wait for it…" Wurmple was halfway there "wait for it…Now Torchic use Peck!" Torchic slammed his beak down onto the Wurmple's head instantly knocking him out. "Alright Torchic, great job!" May cheered as she reached into her fanny pack pulling out a pokeball. "Okay ese, you're mine!" she shouted throwing the pokeball at Wurmple. The pokeball opened up, turning Wurmple into a red swirl of energy, and closed trapping the energy inside. The pokeball shook three times and clicked, May had caught her first pokemon.

"Odelay!" she proclaimed triumphantly as she picked up the pokeball containing Wurmple, placing it on her belt.

Then she went over toward her Torchic and released it from the fibers.

"Tor!" it chirped happily jumping into May's arms. "You did great Torchic, I'm so proud of you!" May said hugging Torchic.

"Wow May that was so cool!" Brendan said running up to her. "Thanks" she said blushing.

"Yeah that was cool!" Billy exclaimed. "You're the coolest person we have ever met!" Allen proclaimed.

"Aww c'mon guys, you're making me blush" she said flustered.

"From now on, we are going to act just like you!" Allen said turning to Billy "Odelay Billy!" "Odelay Allen!" the boys told each other mimicking May.

"What does odelay mean?" Brendan asked. "Nevermind that, Brendan I think we need to head to a Pokemon Center right away, your Mudkip is poisoned!" she reminded him.

"Oh yeah, come on out Mudkip" Brendan said releasing his injured Mudkip. "Mud…" he said softly still in pain.

"Don't worry little buddy, I'll get rid of that poison right quick!" he said pulling an Antidote from his backpack. "Always prepare for the worst" he said spraying the medicine onto Mudkip. "Mudkip!" he cried happily, his poison gone. _"Ahhh, feeling much better..."_

"Well I'm glad Mudkip is feeling better" May said smiling. "Yeah but he's still hurt from the battle, and so are your pokemon, so I think we should start heading to Petalbug right away" Brendan told her.

"Hey Allen, Billy" Brendan said turning toward the two young boys "I think you two should also go heal your pokemon." Okay, bye May and Brendan it was nice meeting you!" they said heading in the direction of Oldale Town.

"Well let's go" May said as both trainers recalled their pokemon and headed toward Petalburg City.

**Fun fact, the Hearts From Hoenn Building is as tall as the actual tallest building in our world, the Burj Khalifa. **


	5. Petalburg City

**Petalburg City**

"Wow, that's Petalburg?!" May exclaimed in awe as both her and Brendan finally made their way through the jagged forested passage that was Route 102. Now May was faced with the beautiful sprawl of Petalburg City. Although it was no were near as big or busy as Goldenrod, it had a familiarity to it since she grew up in a big city, a nice change from the two small towns she had passed through.

"Yep that's Petalburg City" Brendan said smiling.

"Oh I can't wait to battle dad; this will officially be the start of my journey to become champion!" May proclaimed giddy with anticipation.

"Well before you challenge your dad I think we should heal our pokemon" said Brendan, reminding her of their previous battle.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot!" she said "let's head to the nearest Pokemon Center pronto!" May proclaimed as she ran down the last stretch of Route 102 and into Petalburg City, with Brendan struggling behind.

"Wait up May!"

"Wow the building are big here too!" May exclaimed marveling at the pristine buildings as she aimlessly ran down the clean city streets of Petalburg "and here I thought Hoenn was going to be one endless maze of jungles, paths, and small towns."

"May wait up!" Brendan yelled finally catching up to her. "Do you even know where you're going?" he asked.

"Oh uh I actually have no idea, I just started wandering around…" May replied embarrassed.

"Well instead of wandering around aimlessly, let us consult the pokenav" Brendan said pulling out his portable Hoenn map "Let's see… the Petalburg City Pokemon Center is two blocks east of us."

"East, where exactly is east?" May asked anxious to start moving again.

Brendan lifted his arm pointing at the direction opposite of where May was heading "that way."

"Oh okay" May said smiling "let's go!" she said as she started running east

"Hey wait up!" Brendan cried once again trying to keep up with May.

"Here it is!" May cried as she reached a building with a red roof.

"Jeez…you…run…fast" Brendan said panting out of breath.

"Or maybe you're just too slow" she replied flashing him a quick smile. Brendan could only smile back at her comment.

"Well, ladies first" he said opening the door for May.

"Such a gentlemen" she said as she entered the pokemon center.

"Why hello, how may I help you two?" Nurse Joy greeted the duo smiling.

"Our pokemon our a little roughed up from a battle we had earlier, may you please heal them for us Nurse Joy" May asked politely handing Nurse Joy her and Brendan's pokeballs.

"Of course, you two just sit tight I'll have your pokemon healed in no time!" Nurse Joy said as she placed the pokeballs on some sort of pokemon healing machine.

May and Brendan sat down on a bench.

"So May, are you nervous about your first gym battle?" Brendan asked.

"Yeah I'm nervous, especially since I'll be going up against my dad" May replied. "I'm sure you'll do fine" Brendan replied smiling.

"Thanks Brendan" May replied "besides I'll have you cheering for me on the sidelines."

"Yeah…about that" Brendan said looking at the floor.

"What about that?" May asked "you are going to cheer for me right?"

"Well…."

"May, Brendan you're pokemon are fully healed!" Nurse Joy proclaimed. The two trainers got up to pick up their pokemon "thank you Nurse Joy" they both said as they exited the pokemon center.

"So Brendan what did you mean back in there?" May asked.

"Well May, I really do want to be by your side and cheer you on, but I promised my dad I would work on the pokedex so that's my top priority." Brendan said "I'm going back to Route 102 to document the pokemon there."

"But…" May started

"Look May, I'm sure you'll do fine, I'll catch up with you when I'm done" he said sensing May's disappointment.

"Okay, I understand" May said with a fake smile covering up her feeling of disappointment "I'll go on ahead, good luck on Route 102."

"Thanks for being so understanding May, you sure you're okay with this?" he asked

"Of course, I'm a big girl I can handle being on my own" she lied.

"Well see you May, and good luck on your gym battle!" Brendan said as he headed toward Route 102.

"Thanks, I'll see you soon!" she replied waving too him.

May stood and watched as he disappeared from her sight and let out a deep sigh.

_"Bye cutie"_

* * *

After Brendan departed, May walked around Petalburg looking for a sign or map that could point her towards her dad's gym.

"Shit, I have no idea where I am" May muttered realizing she was lost. She looked up and down the street she was on. People walked on sidewalks, and cars zipped by on the streets, but she found nothing that could help her find her way.

_"Well this is a fine pickle I've gotten myself into" _May said in her mind as she looked up and down the nice calm street. A few people walked on the sidewalk, while a car or two zipped by on the road...nothing to show her where to go.

_"Damnit Brendan, you had to go run off with that damn pokenav..."_

"Excuse me young lady"

May was caught off guard by the voice. She quickly spun around with her hands balled into fists (a reflex from living in South Goldenrod) toward the source of the voice. Before her stood a cheerful looking boy that looked to be about two years older than her. He looked harmless enough, so she unclenched her fists. "Hello" May greeted warmly "can I help you?"

"No but I think I can help you" the boy replied placing his hand onto her shoulder "you look like a pokemon trainer, so as on, you're here to challenge the Petalburg City gym right?"

"Right" May answered, surprised by how right the boy was "but-"

"But" the boy interrupted before May could finish her sentence "you're new in Petalburg, and you don't know your way around the city right?" he said with 'am I right' eyes.

"Ummm...yes, that's exactly the predicament I'm in right now" May said amazed with how accurate the boy was with his assumptions "how'd you know?"

"Oh you stick out like a sore thumb" the boy replied "I mean, you're obviously a trainer, I can tell by your clothes, and I know you can't be from around here because we don't have many trainers here in Petalburg, this city is filled mainly with families, workers, and shop owners...also the way you were looking up and down the street hopelessly lost was a dead giveaway."

"Jeez am I really that obvious?"

"Yup" the boy nodded, still smiling.

"Oh okay, so..." May started to say, but once again the boy with the magnificent hindsight beat her to the punch.

"So I'll escort you to the gym! being the nice guy that I am" the boy said flashing her a helpful smile.

_"This guy sure is weird, but hey if he's willing to show me the way, then he could be whatever he wants to be, he's alright in my book!"_

"Alright, lead the way!" May said as the boy started to escort her to the gym, his hand never leaving her shoulder the whole time. They soon reached an area of Petalburg filled with pretty residential homes, all identical to one another, from the shudders to the green blades of grass on each lawn.

_"Probably part of one of those housing projects I heard about."_

They soon reached a long complex with a sleek brown roof amongst the residential homes.

"Here it is!" the boy proclaimed "Petalburg Gym!"

"Gracias amigo!" May thanked, shaking the boys hand "it would've taken me much longer to find this place if you hadn't come along."

"It was my pleasure" the boy said as he released May's hand, heading back to wherever he came from. May took her eyes away from the boy and focused them onto the gym.

* * *

"Okay..here goes nothing!" May said whilst rubbing her pendant as she entered the gym. Inside the gym was a large expansive room with a polished hardwood floor, except for a large patch of paved dirt in the center, most likely used for battling. On the opposite side of the gym stood the gym leader...her father.

"Hi dad!" May said running up to Norman to give him a hug

" Oh hi Honey, I'm so glad to see you!" Norman replied hugging her back.

"I'm happy to see you too dad!" she replied with her arms still wrapped around him.

"My my, I can't believe you came to Petalburg all by yourself" Norman said smiling "I guess you are ready to travel on your own..." he said with a small hint of sadness.

"Well I didn't get here by myself, I had my pokemon…and Brendan" May replied.

"Oh, hey where is Brendan?" Norman asked looking over May's shoulder "I'm always glad to see that good natured boy."

"Oh, he's on Route 102 documenting pokemon with his pokedex" May informed her father.

"Oh, I thought you two were going to travel together" Norman replied.

"We will…at times…I guess" May answered, it was her turn to have a hint of sadness in her voice.

"So May how have you and your Torchic been?" Norman asked oblivious to the sadness in May's voice.

"Oh we've been doing great; we've even made a new friend!" May proclaimed.

"Really, why don't you show me?" Norman said anxiously.

"Okay, come on out Wurmple!" May said releasing her bug pokemon.

"Wurmple" he grumbled glaring daggers at May. _"I have nothing to say to you."_

"It seems…nice" Norman said looking at the pissed off Wurmple.

"Y-yeah it seems like he still has getting used to being a trainers pokemon" May stammered "l-let's just return him to the pokeball" she said recalling the mad pokemon back into her pokeball.

"So, May what are you doing at the gym? Not that I don't want to see you" Norman chuckled.

"Well-"May started, but was quickly interrupted by the gym doors flying open, and the emergence of a frail green haired boy. The boy walked toward May and Norman looking toward the floor the entire time.

"Um….I….I'd like to get a pokemon please…" the boy said softly in almost a rasp. May and Norman both looked at him puzzled.

"Who are- Oh! You must be Wally" Norman said, apparently expecting the boy. "May this is Wally, I know his father" Norman informed her.

"Hello Wally!" May said joyfully holding out her hand.

"Hi" Wally said softly shaking her hand.

"So Wally, you're here to catch your first pokemon right?" Norman asked.

"Right" Wally replied meekly "I'm going to stay with my relatives in Verdanturf Town. I thought I'd be lonely by myself, so I wanted to take a pokemon along. But I never caught a pokemon before. I don't know how…"

"I see…." Norman said rubbing his chin "I know! I'll lend you my Zigzagoon" Norman said handing Wally a pokeball, and then turned toward May "May why don't you go help Wally catch his first pokemon, since you have experience."

"Are you sure, I mean I've only started yesterday" May said unsure if she was right for the job of helping this sickly boy catch his first pokemon.

"I'm sure you'll do fine hon" Norman said to May as he turned back to Wally "My daughter May will help you with your catch, and don't worry, she's fully qualified to help you.

"Really?" Wally asked skeptically.

May opened her mouth to confirm Wally's suspicions, but Norman quickly covered her mouth with his large hand "FULLY qualified."

"Would you really come with me?" Wally exclaimed smiling. "Sure why not, I'm sure the two of us can find a really dope pokemon for you" she replied as the two exited the gym and passed the buildings and average sized homes, and headed toward Route 102.

* * *

"So May, are you a really experienced pokemon trainer?" Wally asked May as the two entered the lush greenery of Route 102.

"Well…no, I just started my journey yesterday" she informed him "I actually use to be scared of pokemon."

"Oh" Wally muttered.

Suddenly May heard rustling; she immediately spun around to face a patch of tall grass. "What was that?!" Wally exclaimed scared.

"I'm pretty sure it's a pokemon, come on let's go catch it!" she whispered back heading into the tall patch of grass. "O-okay" Wally replied, reluctantly following her into the waist high grass.

"I know it's here somewhere" May mumbled to herself looking for any sign of the pokemon.

_Rustle rustle_

May turned toward the rustling once more.

"There it is!" she exclaimed heading toward the source of the disturbance with Wally following behind her.

May pushed away the blades of grass revealing a small clear patch with a small pokemon with a green head with a red horn growth coming out of it, and a gown like growth covering its legs.

"Wow I've never seen that pokemon before!" May exclaimed pulling out her pokedex.

_"Ralts the feeling pokemon"_ the automated voice said _"It uses the horn on its head to sense human emotions. It hides if it senses hostility."_

"It's so cute!" May exclaimed as she turned toward Wally "go on, release the pokemon my dad lent you."

"Oh alright, let me just-"before Wally could finish the little Ralts walked over towards him. "Ralts!" she exclaimed happily. _"Hi!"_

"Hi there…" Wally muttered nervously "what do I do now?" he whispered to May. "I don't think you have to do anything, I think that Ralts really likes you" she said smiling.

Wally knelt down to face the Ralts "do you really like me?" he asked. "Ralts" she said nodding. _"Sure, you seem really nice."_

"Do you want to come with me to Verdanturf Town?" he asked. "Ralts" she proclaimed happily jumping into the sickly boy's arms. _"Of course!"_

"Well I think that is a definite yes" May said smiling. "Yeah, I think so too!" Wally laughed as he put the Ralts down.

"Time to go into the pokeball" he said as he pulled out an empty pokeball. "Ralts" she said once more with a big smile as it was enveloped by the pokeball.

"Wow, my first pokemon!" Wally proclaimed happily holding the pokeball above him in triumph.

"Yeah, and you did it without even having to battle it." May said "I think you could befriend any pokemon."

"You really think so?" he asked

"Of course, well I think we should start heading back" May suggested.

"You're right; oh I can't wait to get back to show my dad my new pokemon!" Wally exclaimed as the two headed back toward Petalburg. It didn't take long for the two teens to arrive back to Petalburg; it took about 17 minutes or so.

* * *

"So how did it go?" Norman asked as May and Wally entered the gym.

"I got it!" Wally proclaimed "and he didn't even have to battle it, it walked right up to him!" May added.

"Well I guess you really didn't need to borrow my pokemon after all" Norman said smiling.

"I guess not, thanks anyways" Wally said handing Norman his pokemon back.

"Well I have to go, thank you Mr. Maple, and thank you May!" Wally said joyfully as he started exiting the gym

"Bye Wally, be safe!" May waved to him as he left.

"Nice kid, I don't know if it's just me, but Wally seemed much livelier with his new pokemon then he was before" Norman inquired.

"He sure did, I think he'll make a great trainer" May replied.

"So May, before Wally came I asked you why you came to my gym, so….why did you come?" Norman asked.

May took a deep breath "dad I've decided I want to challenge the Pokemon League, so I will face down all the gyms of the Hoenn region to become the Hoenn region champion…starting with you dad."

"M-May, I can't believe it…you're following in your father's footsteps! Oh I'm so proud, but May I must tell you…"

"What is it dad?" May asked. "You need to have at least three pokemon for us to have an official Pokemon League match" Norman informed her. "Oh…" May said embarrassed "but we can have an unofficial match as father and daughter!" "Okay!" May exclaimed beaming.

"But I must warn you May, I may be your father but I'm also a trainer. I won't go easy on you, and I expect you to do the same for me, no mercy."

"Okay dad, I'll give it all I got!" May said as she pulled out her pokeball "go Torchic!" May cried releasing her fire type from the confines of his pokeball. "Torchic!" he chirped ready to battle. _"Let's do this...oh, I see you are fighting the patriarch of your family. This must be important, so I'll work extra hard!"_

"Alrighty then, go Vigoroth!" Norman cried throwing his pokeball.

Out of it came a swirling red mist that composed itself into a pokemon with mostly white fur on its body with the exception of a large red tuft of fur in between its eyes. It had a pair of large claws on its hands. It resembled a mix of a sloth and a monkey. "Vigoroth!" it roared menacingly.

"W-what's that?!" May stammered pulling out her pokedex

"_Vigoroth the wild monkey pokemon" the automated voice informed "It can't keep still because its blood boils with energy. It runs through fields and mountains all day to calm itself. If it doesn't, it can't sleep at night."_

"That looks like one tough mother" May thought to herself watching the Vigoroth bursting with energy.

"Alright May, make your first move."

"Torchic use Growl!" May instructed. Torchic let out a low guttural growl, lowering the menacing pokemon's attack.

"Use Slash Vigoroth!" Norman boomed. "Roth!" was the menacing pokemon's reply as he beared down on Torchic with his claws extended. "Tor!" Torchic cried as the Vigoroth slashed him with the impressive power of its strong arms.

"Torchic are you okay!" May cried. "Torchic" he nodded as he got back onto its feet.

_"Jeez even with it's attack lowered it still packs a devastating punch."_

"Alright Torchic, let's give them a taste of our power, use Ember Torchic!" Torchic inhaled deeply "Tor-chic!" he cried as he exhaled, spewing a swarm of fiery projectiles at Vigoroth.

"Vigoroth use endure!" Vigoroth tightened all his muscles as the projectiles bombarded him. Vigoroth cringed in pain, but survived the attack.

_"That Ember probably hit him pretty hard, maybe now I can follow up with a physical attack, cause I think he'll expect me to use Ember again."_

"Torchic use Peck now!" Torchic sprinted toward Vigoroth and slammed his beak onto the much larger and stronger pokemon. "Counter now!" Norman yelled. Vigoroth reeling from the peck suddenly sprung back towards Torchic, his hands balled up in a fist.

_"Counter! That does NOT sound good, I have to get Torchic out of there!"_

"Dodge Torchic!" May yelled, but it was too late. Vigoroth had landed the blow. Torchic landed at May's feet knocked out.

"Oh, no Torchic!" May cried picking up the defeated fire type. "Return" she said recalling Torchic "get some rest, you deserve it."

"Return Vigoroth" Norman said recalling the powerful Normal type "Well May I got to say, you're pretty good" Norman complimented "you have a strategy, weaken the opposing pokemon and then attack, but it seems you are a little too reckless in your attack. You sent Torchic at my pokemon not knowing what defensive move I had."

"Whoops" May said blushing.

"But that is understandable, you're still a beginner. I see a lot of potential in you honey but you still have ways to go."

"Ways is an understatement" May said berating herself.

"Don't bring yourself down, listen if you want to improve your skills as a trainer I suggest you head to Rustboro City and challenge the gym leader. Once you do that, battle other gyms across Hoenn, and one day we'll have our rematch."

"I will dad, and when I come back I'll be the victor!" May proclaimed.

"We will see, but for the time being go to Rustboro and hone your skills"

"Okay dad" May said as she started toward the gym door "and be careful May, I don't want anything happening to you."

May turned around and nodded "I will, goodbye dad!" May said smiling as she exited the gym.

"Kids grow up so fast" Norman muttered to himself smiling.

* * *

**Later at the Petalburg Pokémon center...**

"Your pokemon are fully healed May" Nurse Joy said smiling.

"Thank you, well I guess I should get some sleep" May said putting her pokeballs on her belt.

"Of course, the guest rooms are right through that door" Nurse Joy said pointing towards a door on the right side of the door

"Thank you ma'am" May said as she walked towards the door and entered the guest room (strangely identical to the one in Oldale).

May took off her casual attire and placed them neatly onto her the dresser on the side of her bed. She then pulled out her nightgown from her fanny pack and slid it on. Finally, she plopped down on her bed savoring its pleasurable embrace.

_"Well today certainly was an interesting day, a met a new friend and saw some new pokemon…"_ she thought to herself _"and got my ass handed to me by my dad."_ May shook her head _"don't dwell on the past May, all that matters is the future- well I guess the past matters too since you need a past for a future… Wait what was I thinking about? Oh that's right! Getting my butt kicked, well at least I did my best."_ May thought trying to comfort herself. _"Well I should go to sleep if I want to wake up early to head to Rustboro…"_

May closed her eyes. _"…I wonder how Wally's doing…I can't wait to challenge the gym in Rustboro!...Damnit I can't fall asleep! Maybe I should count Mareep, 1…2…3…4…5 aw this isn't working…I wish Brendan was here."_

May sighed _"Mmmmm Brendan so nice, so funny…so…handsome…"_ May closed her eyes and fell into a nice long slumber, her mind filled with sweet sensual dreams regarding her friend Brendan.


	6. Route 104 and The Petalburg Forest

** Heading to Rustboro-Team Aqua Appears!**

'_Ring, Ring'_

May's eyes slowly fluttered open

'_Ring, Ring'_

"Oh shut up…" May said slamming her hand down upon the blaring alarm clock. She sat upright on her plushy bed and stretched.

"What a good night's sleep" she muttered smiling, with her eyes closed "I don't remember what my dream was about, but it must've been good!"

May got off the bed and went to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. When she was done, she put on her clothes, tied her green bandanna, and put her fanny pack around her waist. "Time to get going" she muttered kissing the pendant depicting Rayquaza around her neck.

"Goodbye Nurse Joy, and thanks for letting me stay in the guest room" May said thankfully as she started to exit the Pokemon Center. "Anytime, stay safe!" Nurse Joy replied waving. May stepped out into the sleepy city of Petalburg, the morning sun shining down unto May's face.

"That's pretty bright!" she giggled blocking the light with her gloved hand. May looked down the street hoping to see Brendan, she only saw a few people walking on the sidewalks and a car drive by. "Guess he's still on Route 102…" she sighed as she started towards Route 104.

* * *

May walked down the streets of Petalburg passing by many people. She stopped when she reached a building with a blue roof. "Galipe's Pokemart" she said to herself reading the sign on the complex.

'_Ring, Ring'_

A bell connected to the door rang as May entered the store. "Hello" said the store clerk smiling at May "what can I do for you?" "Oh I'm just browsing" she replied looking through the aisles filled with pokemon medicine and merchandise. A jar with art nouveau motifs decorating it caught May's eyes.

"What's this?" May muttered. "Poke Snacks" the label read and underneath it "your Pokémon's running on empty? Reinvigorate them with our patented vitamin rich poke snacks (chocolate flavored)"

"That's pokemon food" the clerk said "pokemon love it and it doesn't cost much."

"How much does it cost?"

"500 pokedollars"

"That's pretty steep, but I think I have enough in the budget for it" May said handing the clerk the money. "Thank you, will that be all ma'am?" "Yes, have a good day" May said as she exited the store and back out into the sun bathed city.

"Let's see, where is Route 104?" May said peering across the sea of pedestrians looking for a sign that will point her to her destination.

"There it is!" she exclaimed spotting a sign that pointed toward Route 104. "I better start hauling ass" she said jogging in the direction of the sign.

* * *

May finally reached the edge of Petalburg City and entered Route 104. The path was linear, nothing out of the ordinary until it opened up revealing it was on a Cliffside overlooking a beautiful beach.

"Wow!" May exclaimed as the noon sun's light shone down upon the blue sea making it twinkle "Pelipper" "Wingull" cawed a group of marine pokemon overhead.

May pulled out her pokedex.

_"Wingull the seagull pokemon, It makes its nest on a sheer cliff at the edge of the sea. It has trouble keeping its wings flapping in flight. Instead it soars on updrafts"_

_"Pelipper the water bird pokemon, It skims the tops of waves as it flies. When it spots prey, it uses its large beak to scoop up the victim with water. It protects its eggs in its beak"_

"So cool!" she squealed as they passed overhead. "I think I can make ONE detour before I go to Rustboro" she said as she went down a path that led down the Cliffside and onto the beach.

The sand was soft and white with a few palm trees sprouting here and there; the beach was inhabited by only a few people mainly kids and a couple of fisherman. In the distance she could see a small cottage. May was giddy with excitement, she had never been on a beach before, so every little thing, from the soft white sand, to the vast blue sea had a majestic effect on her, like someone who had been locked away in a deep dungeon all his life to finally be able to see the sun. She ran towards the beautiful blue waves calling to her, ready to jump in and be embraced by the beauty that was nature, but she quickly stopped. She didn't know how to swim, living in Goldenrod never required it, so she never took the time to practice. She was regretting it now.

May sighed "Huh, what luck...I finally get to see a beach, and I can't even swim...all I can do is look at it...jeez nature, you're such a tease!" She walked away from the shore and the foamy waves, looking for a nice place to rest and give her pokemon lunch. She found the nice shaded area under one of the nearby palm trees to be the perfect place.

"Come on out!" May said releasing her two pokemon from their pokeballs. "Torchic!" Torchic chirped happily _"Ahhh fresh air! Time to stretch out my feathers..."_

"Wurmple" the bug type grumbled _"Fresh air huh, great...I think I'd appreciate it more if I wasn't some human's slave..."_

"Oh Wurmple, you're not still mad are you?" May asked, leaning down to give Wurmple a warm smile. "Wurm!" he grunted, refusing even to look at May. _"Go fuck yourself you brown skinned slaver bitch!" _

"Tor, Tor-Torchic" the little fire type chirped trying to befriend the angry Wurmple._ "Aww come on buddy, May isn't that bad. I bet we'll all get along just fine!"_

"Wurm!" he cried shooting a String Shot at Torchic's face causing Torchic to fall over backward. _"How's this for getting along you submissive fuck!"_

"Hey leave Torchic alone!" May yelled removing the fibers from Torchic's face. "Wurm" he chuckled at May and Torchic. _"That's what I think of your team!"_

"Alright Wurmple, I've had enough of your crap! You are my pokemon, you'll always be MY pokemon whether you like it or not! So you have two options. Option 1 you can cut the crap and respect Torchic and I as your partners, or option 2, you could continue being a prick" The Wurmple stood watching intently as May continued "but let me tell you this, if you choose the 2nd option you'll only be hurting yourself because you're gonna be dealing with me throughout this whole journey, so what will it be? Option 1 or option 2?"

Wurmple glared at May as she glared right back at him. Wurmple wanted to stare her down, but she wasn't budging. "Wurm" Wurmple said breaking his gaze away from May's in defeat, he knew she meant business. _"Jeez I get it, I'm your pokemon now, you're my master. No free will for me anymore, just please don't glare at me with those big blue eyes."_

"So you're picking option 1?" May asked.

"Wurm" Wurmlpe nodded. _"Yeah I'm picking option one."_

"Good, look just give me a chance okay. I'm sure the more time we spend together the more you'll grow to like me, besides I like you." Wurmple stood silent. "Anyways I brought you guys out so we can have a nice little picnic at the beach"

"Tor!" the Torchic chirped happily. _"That sounds great, thanks May!"_

"Wurmple" Wurmple said softly. _"Yes, thanks..."_

"Let me get out your bowls…" May said pulling two white bowls from her fanny pack "and the poke snacks I bought earlier…" May pulled out the art nouveau decorated poke snack jar, opened it and poured the contents evenly into the two bowls "…and there a yummy lunch, dig in guys they're chocolate flavored!" she said joyfully.

The two pokemon began to happily dig into their meal as May sat under one of the majestic palm trees and watched the waves crash onto the shore as the sunlight made the waves sparkle and the sea breeze made her bangs flutter. She sighed "Hoenn is so beautiful."

"Excuse me"

"Wha-oh hello" May said looking up to see a husky man with sunglasses, a haiiwan t-shirt, and khaki shorts. "Let me guess, from the way you're dressed, are you a pokemon trainer?" the man asked.

"Yes, yes I-"

"Well maybe not. Your clothes aren't all that dirty, you're probably just an ordinary kid" the man interrupted.

"Wha-hey I'am a trainer! Are you blind or something? Do you not see my pokemon eating? They are literally right next to me!" May exclaimed offended.

"Well I guess you are just a rookie trainer. I'm roaming Hoenn in search of talented trainers, I'm sorry to have taken your time" and with that the man walked away.

May stood up "What the hell is your problem! Disrespecting like that, who the hell do you think you are? You're gonna be taking those words back when all of Hoenn refers to me as Champion May! You hear me! C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N MAY, recognize that name ese!" she yelled, but the man apparently did not hear May continued to walk away.

"What a prick" May muttered as she watched the man slowly disappear in the distance. "C'mon lets head to Rustboro" she said as she recalled her pokemon back into their respective pokeballs, as placed the empty bowls back into her fanny pack and started down Route 104.

* * *

May climbed up the cliff once more and followed the path on Route 104. The path winded down until it stopped at the edge of a dense forest.

"Is this part of Route 104?" May thought as she spotted a sign. "Petalburg Forest, Route 104 continues past the forest" she read. "Well looks like I have to go through the spooky dark forest" May said nervously rubbing her Rayquaza pendant. "Here goes nothing" she said entering the forest.

The forest was dark and dense, overgrown and wild with unkept foliage and large sloping trees. The path was jagged and uneven, the call of unseen wild pokemon added to the eerie feel of the gothic forest.

"Why is it so dark? It's noon! The sun was high up in the sky!" May said making conversation with herself to lessen tense mood. May continued to walk through the forest, able to see only by the small accents of sunlight that somehow made their way through the dense canopy.

"Shroomish! Shroomish come on out!" came a voice down the path. May walked toward the voice. She was greeted with the sight of a man in an olive green business suit hunched over holding a brown box.

"Excuse me sir, may I ask what you are doing?" May asked the man confused.

"Have you seen the pokemon Shroomish, I really love that pokemon" the man replied

"Wha- N-no I haven't, but that still doesn't answer-" "There you are" interrupted another voice.

Out of the darkness came a menacing figure with a blue bandanna, a striped shirt, and blue pants. May knew he was up to no good, but he didn't scare her. He looked nowhere near as hardcore as the cholos back in South Goldenrod, and not nearly as tough (although the man did seem to be very muscular, especially his biceps). "I was gonna wait to ambush you on Route 104, but no you had to waste my time taking your sweet ass time in this god-forsaken forest! So hand over that box NOW" the menacing man yelled taking a step toward the man holding the box against his chest. "N-no I can't let you do that" he turned too May "please, you have to do something!"

"Don't even think about it little girl!" The man yelled turning toward May. "I'm not going to just stand by and watch you bust a jack move on this poor guy!" May protested.

"I'm only gonna tell you this once you little brat, you don't cross Team Aqua unless you're ready to deal with the consequences!" He yelled pulling out a pokeball.

"Oh I'm so scarred" May said sarcastically "please I've grown up with punks like you, bunch of chavallas in matching colors!" she mocked.

"I warned you! Go Poochyena!" the man cried releasing a gray dog like pokemon from his pokeball.

_"A jeez another canine..."_ May thought to herself as she struggled to keep the fear from creeping back into her mind _"I thought I was over this..."._ She rubbed the pendant in between her fingers, it comforted her. She pulled out her pokedex, not about to let her feelings get in the way of her promise to document pokemon for Prof. Birch.

_"Poochyena the bite pokemon, It savagely threatens foes with bared fangs. It chases after fleeing targets tenaciously. It turns tail and runs, however, if the foe strikes back."_

"A pokedex huh" the man said "I think I'll steal that too!"

"That's if you win, Go Tor..." May hesitated "I think I'll give Wurmple a shot at this" she thought to herself. May pulled out the pokeball containing Wurmple "go Wurmple!" she cried releasing her bug type.

"Alright little brat, get ready for the most embarrassing ass kicking you'll ever have! Poochyena use Bite!" The Poochyena charged at Wurmple, fangs bared.

"Wurmple use String Shot on Poochyena's mouth!" "Wurm!" he cried releasing sticky fibers that wrapped tightly around Poochyena's mouth.

"Oh no Poochyena! C'mon you can break outta that!" the Team Aqua grunt yelled. "Pooch!" the little gray dog yelped using his jaw muscles to try and rip through the fibers.

"Poison Sting now!" May yelled. "Wurm-ple!" the little bug cried shooting poison darts at the dark type dog. "Pooch!" he cried in pain as the darts not only damaged him, but poisoned him as well as they hit their mark. Poochyena in his rage finally ripped through the fiber on its mouth.

"Alright Poochyena! Now use Bite again!" The Poochyena once again charged at the Wurmple, only this time he clamped his jaws down onto Wurmple.

"Wurm!" he cried in pain as the Poochyena's sharp canines dug into his body.

"Oh no! Hang in there Wurmple!" May cried.

"Throw him Poochyena!" the grunt yelled. Poochyena spun the Wurmple around his head, and opened its mouth releasing Wurmple, sending him skidding across the ground.

"C'mon Wurmple you can pull through!" May cheered. "Ple..." Wurmple muttered as he got back into its battle stance.

"Let's end this Tackle now!" the grunt yelled. The dark type started his charge

"You do the same, use Tackle Wurmple!" May instructed, knowing that the poison was taking its toll on Poochyena, making him weaker with every passing second. The blood rushing through his body from the tiring battle helped the poison move quicker, all that was needed now was the final attack that would bring the dog-like pokemon to its knees.

SLAM

The two pokemon collided sending each other flying back toward their trainers.

"Oh no Wurmple!" May cried as she ran up to the hurt bug type. "Wurm…" he stammered rolling back onto his ten feet.

"Get up Poochyena!" the grunt yelled "Pooch…" the Poochyena stammered using everything it still had left in him to get back onto his feet, but despite his best efforts, he fell back down knocked out.

"Wha-No way! I lost!" the Team Aqua grunt cried in disbelief.

"We did it! You did great Wurmple!" May proclaimed hugging her pokemon.

"Wurm!" he replied happily, welcoming her praise. _"We did do it didn't we! I guess you're not so bad after all, I think I might like being on your team May!"_

"Get some rest, you deserve it!" she said recalling her pokemon.

"But how? How could some kid beat me?" the grunt said still in disbelief.

"Poison Sting poisoned your Poochyena, it slowly dwindled its health until it could no longer fight" May informed him.

"Grrrrr pokemon or not I'm taking that box, and your pokedex too!" The grunt yelled taking a step toward May and the olive suit man.

"You better back off, cause if you come any closer I'm throwing a putaso to your jaw" May warned

"Oh shut up little girl!" the grunt said approaching May and the olive suit man.

May placed Wurmple behind her as she grew very tense. Her fists balled, and she got onto her toes so she could move more fluidly. Her face lowered slightly, her bangs obscuring the complete focus on her face. All those lessons taught to her by Nick on the art of beating the shit out of another person came rushing back to her.

BAM!

May quickly faked with her left, causing the grunt to flinch for a second. In that second, May used her right fist to deliver two swift punches. One to the torso, and another to the jaw, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Owwww, you got quite a heavy hand you little brat" the grunt said getting up and rubbing his jaw. "This isn't the last you've seen of Team Aqua!" the grunt cried as he ran down the path, disappearing into the dark foliage.

"Oh thank you, thank you!" the olive suit man cried shaking May's hand "you're a hero!"

"Oh I was just in the right place at the right time" May said modestly

"Still, you deserve a reward" the man said pulling out a blue pokeball with re protrusions on its sides "here take it."

"Thank you, what is it?" May asked. "It's a Great Ball. It's like a pokeball, except it has a higher catch rate" he informed her looking at his watch "Oh no, look at the time! I'm sorry to leave so suddenly, but I'm late! See you, and thanks again!" the man waved as he ran down the path.

"Nice" May said observing the ball, then placing it in here fanny pack.

May continued through Petalburg Forest until she saw an opening in the overgrowth. "Finally" May exclaimed as she ran toward the opening. Once again she was on Route 104. May peered at a sign on the path "Rustboro up ahead" May read "I'm almost there! Look out Rustboro because here I come!" she proclaimed as she continued down Route 104.


	7. Rustboro City Showdown

** Rustboro City Showdown**

"So you're clear on what you are to do?" Jonathan asked a man in dark military fatigues, a black beret, and a symbol of a heart with the letters HFHSS encased in the heart. The symbol was placed on the shoulders of the uniform.

"Y-yes jefe, you can count on me mang" the man said bluntly turning to leave.

"And Miklo" Jonathan said grasping the collar on his uniform spinning him around to face him once more.

"Do not fail me" he said sternly looking past Admin Miklo's eyes and into his soul "do not fail me."

"N-No problem jefe, I won't."

* * *

**Back To May**

"Wow I can see Rustboro from here!" May exclaimed.

May stood on a bridge on Route 104 that led to Rustboro. Underneath her the blue waves of the river flowed ever so calmly. May peered into the river to see her joyful reflection staring back at her.

"Magikarp!" yelped a red fish pokemon as it disturbed the water and distorted her reflection. May giggled at her distorted image in the clear water. May looked away and started down the bridge toward Rustboro.

"Wow this city is more beautiful than Goldenrod!" May proclaimed smiling. Indeed Rustboro was. The large beautiful city of Rustboro was filled with large buildings and skyscrapers whose architecture came from generations in the past. The streets were made of stone, and almost all the structures were inspired by art nouveau. May walked down the streets of the art nouveau inspired city looking for the Rustboro City Pokemon Center Along the way, people stopped to say hello, probably noticing she wasn't from those parts.

_"The people around here are so nice"_ she thought to herself as she would greet the people back politely. This city was so different from South Goldenrod, it was clean, clearly appreciated art, and was full of happy cheerful citizens. The reason for the difference between the two cities she assumed was that this city was much wealthier, with its citizens having stable jobs and high standards of living, hell even Petalburg wasn't as nice as this city! After a few more minutes and marveling at the awe-inspiring sights, she was lucky enough to find a map of the city complete with a legend.

"So the Pokemon Center's here…oh and the gym's here! Great now I know where to go!" May said as she started toward the pokemon center. _"Hmmm I think I should have checked the legend to see if there's a police station around here to report what happened in Petalburg Forest"_ May pondered as she walked down the sidewalk _"or maybe not, what am I thinking?! if I snitched to the police I'd be nothing but a no good chivato…"_

BAM

"Oww, oh I'm so sorry!" May apologized for she had bumped into a man while she was lost in thought.

"Oh it's no problem" the man said turning toward May.

When May saw who it was she immediately frowned "oh it's you…" May muttered disdainfully.

"Have we met?" the man asked confused

"Oh don't give me that, I know you know me!" May yelled her fists clenched "remember on the beach 'I'm looking for talented trainers sorry to have wasted your time' what the hell is up with that!?"

"L-look I didn't mean it like-""You've got some nerve Mr. Disrespectful!" May interrupted jabbing her index finger into the man's flabby chest.

"Hey watch it!" the man said backing away from May. "Look I'm sorry if I offended you in any way, it was not my intention." May crossed her arms and looked at him sternly.

"I'm really sorry, look let me introduce myself. My name's Scott" he said holding out his hand. "May Maple" May replied shaking his hand, her stern expression not leaving her face

"I've been travelling everywhere in search of outstanding trainers. More specifically I'm looking for pokemon battle experts. I assume that you are aiming to be one if I offended you so."

May nodded

"So I'll give you a chance, I'll be keeping an eye out for you, and please forgive me, I really did not mean to offend you."

"Oh it's alright" May replied smiling.

"Great! Listen May, I must go but before I do I suggest you go challenge the gym here."

"I was" May replied

"Oh, well before you do I recommend heading to the Rustboro Trainer's school to learn more about the art of pokemon battling, you now to give you that extra edge."

"Thanks Scott I will!" May said beaming.

"No problem May I'll be seeing you, and good luck!" and with that Scott walked away disappearing into the sea of pedestrians.

"The Rustboro Trainer School huh, I think I'll swing by there and learn a few things" May said to herself "excuse me sir" May said to a passing pedestrian.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

"Sir can you please point me towards the Trainer's School" May asked politely.

"Of course, just go down the direction you were heading and take a right on the corner of the street, you won't miss it" the man informed May. "Thank you very much!" May said gratefully.

"No problem" the man said walking away.

"Off to the Trainer's School!" May thought as she walked down the street to the Trainer's School.

* * *

May followed the man's instructions and soon found a long sturdily built schoolhouse. It was the Trainer's School. She opened the door (which was also decorated with art nouveau) and entered.

Inside a male teacher lectured a group of students studying intently. "Hello young lady, may I help you?" the teacher asked. "Ummm I'm here to learn a little about battling before I go up against the gym." Murmurs swept through the class.

"Who does she think she is?!"

"Roxanne's gonna make mince meat outta her!" whispered the kids amongst themselves.

_"Hmpf...I guess not everyone in this city can be nice..."_

"Everyone settle down" the teacher said raising his voice. "Take a seat young lady" he said warmly, handing her a textbook "you can study here for as long as you want."

"Thank you sir" May said smiling. She opened the book and started to study.

"Pokemon types…" she started engrossed in the book.

* * *

**1 Hour Later...**

"…pokemon attacks can be categorized into three types: Physical, special, and status…"

"Alright everyone it is time to go!" the teacher said with a booming voice.

The sounds of chairs screeching on the classroom floor broke May away from the textbook. "Young lady are you ready?" the teacher asked smiling.

"Oh yes, thank you for allowing me to study in your class sir" May thanked.

"It was my pleasure; I hope you do well in your gym battle!"

May nodded and headed outside.

"Hey look, it's the girl that's gonna challenge Roxanne!" a boy yelled.

"You're gonna lose!"

"You're gonna lose!"

The kids chanted laughing and mocking May.

"Don't humor them May, just head to the gym" May told herself as she ignored the crowd, and walked to the gym

"You Suck!"

"You're Whack!"

"Whack!"

"Whack!"

"Whack!" They chanted. They continued until May entered the gym, even then May could still hear the chanting faintly outside.

Inside it was dark, a lone light floated above her illuminating a small circular patch in which May was standing in.

"Hello" she called out "anybody in here!?"

"I'm here to challenge your gym!" she called out once more.

Suddenly the whole room illuminated revealing a huge open space, in the middle a patch of dirt in which pokemon could battle. Om the opposite side of the battlefield stood a young lady about the same age as May. She wore a dark blue school dress, as well as dark pink leggings. Her hair was made into two pigtails held together by a pink bun on the back of her head.

"Greetings challenger, my name is-hold on" the girl walked past May and towards the gym door. She opened it to meet the berating mob of children outside.

"Give it a rest!" she yelled. The kids immediately grew silent.

The girl closed the door. "Thanks" May said, "no problem" the girl replied "I'm sorry about that, they can be real handful."

"Ahem" the girl cleared her throat "my name is Roxanne, I'm the gym leader here!" she proclaimed Hands at her hips and her chest held high.

"Nice to meet you Roxanne, My name's May" May replied holding out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you to May" Roxanne said shaking her hand "so you want to challenge my gym huh"

"Yes, I aim to defeat all the gyms in Hoenn to challenge the pokemon league" May replied.

"Is that so" Roxanne replied "am I the first gym you have challenged?"

"Well no…not exactly" May started "I challenged the gym in Petalburg-""Oh the one that just opened up!" Roxanne interrupted. "Yeah that one, but I didn't have enough pokemon so dad-""Wait wait, your dad is the gym leader in Petalburg!?" Roxanne interrupted once more. "Yeah that's my dad" May chuckled. "Cool! I guess you must be a pretty good trainer if you're a gym leader's daughter…alright I'll battle you, It'll be a great test of the skills I learned in trainer's school to battle the daughter of a fellow gym leader!"

"Really you'll battle me!" May beamed.

"Of course!-wait, how many pokemon do you have?" Roxanne asked.

"Only two…" May answered rather meekly

"That's great! The gym takes 2 vs. 2 battles"

"Alright!" May exclaimed "This is gonna be my first official gym match!"

"Are you ready?" Roxanne asked.

"Can you tell me the rules of your gym?" May asked.

"Of course, I almost forgot!" Roxanne said slapping her forehead. "We'll both use two pokemon, switch ins are allowed, potions of any kind are not. Whoever knocks out all of the opposing trainer's pokemon wins, any questions?"

"No, I'm ready!" May said

"Okay!" Roxanne proclaimed pulling out a pokeball "but be warned I graduated from the trainer's school with top honors, I'm not to be trifled with!"

"I respect you Roxanne, but I'm no pushover!" May said pulling out her pokeball "Go Wurmple!"

Out of May's pokeball came a swirling red mist that composed itself into the pokemon Wurmple. "Wurm!" he cried. _"Looks like another battle. I'll show them what I can do...if you direct me properly. Knowing you though, I'm sure you'll do fine...I hope."_

"A bug type huh, let's see how it fares when confronted with the sheer power of the rock types!" Roxanne chuckled with her arms crossed.

_"Oh no"_ May thought to herself _"She's a rock type leader! And I have two pokemon weak to rock types; I'm at a huge disadvantage!"_

"Go Geodude!" Roxanne yelled throwing her pokeball. Out of the ball came a rugged rock pokemon. He had a head and two arms that protruded from the sides of the head, where the ears should have been. "Geodude!" he roared raising his fists in the air.

"Alright challenger make your move!"

"Fine by me! Use Poison Sting!" May yelled. Wurmple shot out a flurry of poisonous darts at Geodude, but they bounced off the rock type dealing virtually no damage.

_"Damn I forgot poison is weak against rock!"_

"Alright give them a taste of our power with Rock Throw!" Roxanne yelled. "Geo!" Geodude grunted pulling a rock from the ground and heaving it at Wurmple.

"Dodge it Wurmple!" Wurmple jumped away, narrowly evading the rock.

_"I have no chance attacking directly; I'm going to have disable it if I want a chance at defeating it!"_

"Use Rock Throw again Geodude!" Geodude once again grabbed a rock from the ground and flung it towards Wurmple.

_"Here's my chance!"_

"Wurmple catch it with String Shot!" May yelled "Wurm!" he cried shooting a stream of sticky fibers that caught the rock in midair. "Spin it, then fling it at Geodude!" May instructed. Wurmple swung the rock over his head, gaining speed with every revolution, and then it released it. The thread propelled by the rock wrapped around Geodude tightly disabling its arms.

"Alright!" May proclaimed.

"It's not over yet!" Roxanne yelled "Use Rollout!" Geodude entangled in the threads rolled on himself with his spherical body. He tumbled toward Wurmple with tremendous speed. "Wurm!" Wurmple cried as Geodude struck him. Wurmple was sent flying towards May's feet knocked out.

"W-Wurmple…" May stuttered.

"Send out your next pokemon" Roxanne said.

"Return Wurmple!" May said recalling the defeated bug type. "H-how? In one blow…"

"Rollout is a rock type move so it's super effective against bug types like Wurmple" Roxanne informed May.

"Oh yeah, you're right" May said remembering what she learned in the textbook. "Alright let's go Torchic!" She yelled releasing her chick pokemon. "Torchic!" he chirped ruffling his feathers, ready to battle. _"Another battle huh, guess it's a chance for you an I to redeem ourselves after we losing to the patriarch. Alrighty then, let's do our very best!" _

"Rollout again Geodude!" Roxanne instructed. The rock pokemon rolled toward Torchic, a cloud of dust trailing behind him.

"Dodge and use Scratch Torchic!" May cried. Torchic effortlessly dodged the Geodude and racked him with his sharp talons. Geodude seemed unaffected.

_"No matter what I do, it's not affecting Geodude!"_

"Alright Geodude you've been tangled in that crap long enough, rip through it!" Roxanne yelled. "Geo…" Geodude muttered as he used every fiber in his being to try and rip through Wurmple's threads.

_"I know! Ember! It has STAB (same type attack bonus) it should at least hurt Geodude, even if it does resist fire..." _

"Use Ember Torchic!" May yelled. "Tor…" the little fire type inhaled deeply "…chic!" and exhaled firing a swarm of fire towards Geodude. "Geo!" he cried cringing in pain. The Ember had clearly injuried it, but it also burned off the String Shot.

_"Uh oh"_

"Geodude use Rock Tomb!"

"Geo!" it yelled slamming his fist unto the ground causing three big rocks to pop out from the ground. One behind Torchic, the other two on Torchic's sides so he could not escape. "Geodude!" he cried, heaving himself at Torchic.

CRASH

Geodude collided with the Torchic crushing him between the rocks. A large cloud of dust hid the two pokemon. When the dust cleared, it revealed a knocked out Torchic.

"Oh no Torchic!" May cried running over towards the little Torchic, picking him up to hold him in her arms. "I-I'm so sorry Torchic…" May said as she embraced her defeated fire type.

"Don't be too down May" Roxanne said walking over toward her "you did your best."

"Return Torchic" May said recalling Torchic back into its pokeball. "I guess my best wasn't good enough."

"Maybe next time May" Roxanne said holding out her hand "it was a good match"

"Thanks" May said meekly, shaking Roxanne's hand "I'm grateful for the opportunity to battle you" and with that May exited the building. Outside to greet her; the mob of kids.

"You lost didn't you?"

May hid her face with her gloved hand.

"Ha ha you did lose! Loser!"

May walked through the jeering crowd still hiding her face and headed towards the pokemon center.

"Loser!"

"Loser!"

"Loser!" they chanted.

_"They're right"_ May thought to herself. _"You're a loser, a mediocre excuse of a pokemon trainer...you couldn't battle to save your life..."_ A lone tear fell from her eye.

_"Pathetic"_

She continued to berate herself all the way to the pokemon center, the crowd still jeering in her ears.

The walk of shame.


	8. Get Back On The Saddle

**If any of you reading this is an artist, can I ask you to please make a cover for my story. I would really appreciate it.**

**I also forgot to put my disclaimer!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own pokemon or any of its characters. The only characters and organizations I own in this story are Jonathan and the Hearts From Hoenn (and all their admins). Everything else is owned by the Pokémon Company. Oh I also own May's late friend Nick, he's an OC of mine.**

** Get Back on the Saddle!**

The Rustboro City Pokemon Center was alive with young trainers telling each other about their exploits and victories. All but a lone figure situated in the corner of the center, sitting at a table with her face in her arms feeling sorry for herself.

_"I can't do anything right"_ the girl thought to herself. _"I can't beat my dad, Brendan, or Roxanne. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a trainer."_

"May your pokemon are fully healed!" Nurse Joy called out.

May still sulking, picked herself up from the table and walked toward the pokemon center's counter.

"Here you go!" Nurse Joy said handing May her two pokeballs.

"Thank you" May said sadly; placing the two pokeballs on her belt.

"I hope to see you again!" Nurse Joy happily exclaimed. May nodded and exited the center, out to Rustboro City, the sun bathed art nouveau buildings towering above her like the dreams of her becoming champion, something unreachable. May looked at the two pokeballs on her belt, they glistened in the sunlight.

"They deserve a much better trainer then me" She muttered "I'm heading home." May started down the street toward Route 104 to head home. "I was stupid to think I had what it took to challenge the pokemon league, let alone a god damn gym."

"Hello again young lady"

"Wha-" May spun around. "Oh hello sir, nice to see you again" May said greeting the teacher who let her study in the Trainer's School.

"So young lady how did your gym battle go?" the teacher asked.

"Not well" May replied looking down in shame.

"I'm sorry to hear that" the teacher said "but there's always next time, you are planning on challenging the gym again right?"

"Well…"

"Because you can't let one loss get you down, you've got to keep going. If you give up now, you're going to be wondering for the rest of your life what it would've been like if you kept going. Believe me wondering what could have been can be one of the most painful feelings in the world. Don't let it happen to you. Well I have to go young lady, I hope you take my words to heart, farewell" and with that the teacher walked away.

* * *

_'Flashback'_

_"I'm no good!" May sobbed as she sat on the steps leading to her school. All around her, the sounds of cars passing by, kids talking, and police sirens drowned out her words to most of the world except a single male figure standing over her. He was holding in his hand a math quiz, to be specific it was May's math quiz. It had a large red F on it._

_"See I can't do anything right!"_

_The boy ran his finger across the large red F, a slight frown came across his face "...No, I guess you CAN'T do anything right..."_

_May stopped sobbing and looked up towards the boy with a surprised look on her face "Wha-"_

_"No!" the boy interrupted "you're right, you can't do anything right, you are no good!"_

_May's face quickly changed from sobbing and depressed to cringed and rage filled "Take that back!"_

_"Well if all you're going to do is cry like a little punk just because you got a bad grade you are no good. Oh I failed a stupid quiz oh boo hoo, I thought you were better than that."_

_"Man I don't need your shit!" May yelled as she snatched the quiz from the boy's hands "Fuck this quiz and fuck you! Next quiz I'll show this school and your stupid ass that I ain't no punk!"_

_The boy started to chuckle "hehe...there...that's the May I like to see, the May that won't let a small setback devastate her...that's the May that takes that setback and uses it to get even better."_

_May's mouth was slightly agape, she finally realized what her friend had done. Her angry face changed into a smile "damn you Nick...you always now how to bring me back up don't you."_

_"Of course" he said simply flashing her a smile as he playfully ruffled her hair "you just need someone to give you a tongue lashing apparently."_

_"Oh shut up" May giggled as she crumpled the quiz up and threw it into a nearby trashcan._

_'End of the flashback'_

* * *

May grasped her pendant and rubbed it gently. _"He's right"_ May told herself _"I can't let this loss get in the way of me traveling and taking on the Hoenn League, I said it myself 'don't dwell in the past' well I won't!"_ May pulled her two pokeballs from her belt _"Who do I think I am getting all down and emo-like! I'm from South Goldenrod! I'm supposed to be representing La Raza, I can't be sulking around like some punk leva who just got his ass beat! We're going to train and train until we're ready to take that gym on again! we'll show them all the will and determination of a kid from the hood!"_

"But before that I better go buy some supplies" May said as she went to the nearest pokemart. 20 minutes in the pokemart, and she fully stocked with provisions and ready to get going.

May reached the northeast outskirts of the city. "Route 116" she said reading a sign "I guess I'll start training here."

* * *

Route 116 was very open. Trees surrounded the path, their leaves rustling with the wind. A large patch of trees stood in the middle of the entrance leaving a fork in the path, both were covered in tall grass. May walked down the left path.

_Rustle, Rustle_

May turned toward the patch of rustling grass.

_Rustle, Rustle_

"What's that?" May said as she ran over towards the patch of grass. May pushed away the blades of grass to reveal the culprit…

"Skitty!" the culprit meowed. Before her stood a cute pink kitten pokemon with a tan underside and cute pink ears. She had a tail that looked like a toy for cats (you know the ones that they paw at).

"It's so cute!" May squealed as she pulled out her pokedex.

_"Skitty the kitten pokemon. A Skitty's adorably cute behavior makes it highly popular. In battle, it makes its tail puff out. It threatens foes with sharp growls."_

"I'm gonna catch it! Go Torchic!" May cried releasing her fire type. "Torchic!" he chirped ruffling its feathers and turning toward May._ "Okay another battle. This time I'm wining damnit, I ain't losing another battle for you May!"_ He was eager to redeem itself for the earlier gym match.

"Let's do this Torchic, you and I are taking this little cat out!"

"Chic" Torchic nodded as it turned back toward May._ "We got this."_

"Alright use Ember!" May cried. Torchic released a plethora of fiery projectiles at the Skitty. "Skitty!" she cried in pain.

"Alright now use Peck!" May ordered. Torchic ran towards Skitty and slammed his beak onto her. Once again Skitty cried out in pain.

"Use Peck again Torchic!" May yelled, confident one last attack was sufficient to down Skitty.

Torchic did not move

"T-Torchic?"

Torchic did not answer. He just stared at Skitty with loving eyes.

"What's going on with Torchic?!" May asked herself aloud.

_"Skitty's ability is Cute Charm, it infatuates enemy pokemon upon contact"_ the pokedex informed her.

"Skitty!" Skitty cried tackling Torchic. Torchic fell to the ground because of the blow. He quickly got up, still beaming at Skitty.

"C'mon Torchic snap out of it!" May yelled.

"Skit!" the little kitten growled as she ran off into the overgrowth of tall grass.

"Aw shit...she got away..." May muttered disappointed.

Torchic finally recovered from his infatuation. He shook his head vigorously and looked around to continue his battle, but there were no combatants to do battle with. "Chic?" he chirped confused. _"W-What happened? Did I win?"_

"She got away" May told him.

"Tor..." Torchic muttered feeling ashamed that he couldn't help May catch that strangely alluring pokemon._ "Damn, I failed again...I'm so sorry May, she just got to me is all. Her and that damn seductive meow she has."_

"It's alright Torchic, if it wasn't meant to be, then it wasn't meant to be." May said as she picked Torchic up and cradled him in her arms "you did fine anyways little vato."

This brought a slight smile back to Torchic's face, he was still feeling a little down letting Skitty get away and all, but at least he hadn't displeased May. Besides, she had just given him a funny little name. 'Little vato' it had a nice ring, he liked it.

"Let's keep going" may said as she continued to walk down the rugged and slightly forested Route 116 with Torchic nestled comfotably in her arms. May giggled _"he feels really warm!_

* * *

They both continued down Route 116 until she came across two trainers. One was a young boy with a yellow shirt, blue shorts, and a cap turned backwards. The other was a tall burly hiker covered with hiking gear and a permanent jolly smile slapped across his face.

"Hello my name is Johnson!" a young short wearing boy exclaimed joyfully.

"My name's Clark" said the burly Hiker.

"Hi my name's May, I'm here to train my pokemon" she greeted.

"Well how bout we help you with that?" Clark said pulling out a pokeball "me and Johnson here, versus you."

"Fine with me, Go Torchic and Wurmple!"

"Tor Torchic!" the little fire type chirped, this time pumped up to get May the win, he wasn't about to fail three times in a row. _"Okay, another chance to redeem myself. This time I will NOT lose. Seriously, me and...Wurmple...will win for you!"_

"Wurmple!" the bug type cried. He was ready to unleash all the fury he had inside from his embarrassing loss back in the Rustboro gym. This time he was going to show May how good he truly was...and hopefully upstage that asshole Torchic...

"Go Geodude!" Clark cried releasing a rock type, the same type that Roxanne used to defeat both of May's pokemon.

_"Another Geodude"_ May thought to herself _"this is going to be interesting."_

"Go Shroomish!" Johnson yelled releasing a brown mushroom like pokemon with small, stout, dark green legs.

"What's that?" May said pulling out her pokedex.

_"Shroomish the mushroom pokemon. It loves to eat damp, composed soil in forests. If you enter a forest after a long rain, you can see many Shroomish feasting on composed soil."_

"So are we ready to get this battle started?" the hiker asked getting into battle stance, he was eager for the match.

"Sure am! Torchic use Growl, and Wurmple you use String Shot on Geodude!" May instructed.

Torchic inhaled deeply and let loose with a low guttural growl that made Geodude and Shroomish cringe and lower their attack. Wurmple then released a flurry of adhesive threads that wrapped around Geodude tightly.

"Oh no Geodude!" Clark cried as his rock type struggled in the string.

"Don't worry, me and Shroomish can turn the tide of this match!" young Johnson proclaimed with full faith in his mushroom pokemon. May didn't think so.

"Oh no you won't, Torchic use Ember on Shroomish!"

Torchic inhaled deeply, so much so that its belly protruded.

Wurmple looked over toward Torchic, then toward Shroomish. Why did Torchic get to knock out Shroomish and get all the glory? He was just as good...he knew exactly what to do. He was going to defeat Shroomish first to show May he was the top pokemon. _"Yeah, fuck Torchic. That little prick isn't taking my glory!"_ With that said, Wurmple began his charge.

"Wurmple what the hell are you doing!" May cried in disbelief

"Geodude protect Shroomish!" Clark yelled. Geodude started to roll towards the front of Shroomish.

WHAM

Wurmple slammed right into Geodude, hurting himself more than the rock type, just as Torchic released his Ember. The Ember struck Wurmple hard dealing super-effective damage.

"Wurmple are you okay?!" May cried, fearing for Wurmple's safety.

"Wurm..." Wurmple muttered shaking its head with anger in its eyes as it started towards a surprised wide eyed Torchic. _"Why you sneaky little fuck, you'll pay for that!"_

"Wurmple what the hell are you doing!?" May yelled "quick dodge him Torchic!"

Torchic jumped out of Wurmple's way just in time. Wurmple missed Torchic completely, but at the speed he was running, he didn't have time to change his course. He headed straight towards May's leg.

_"Oh shit"_

STAB

Wurmple struck May's left leg with the sharp spike on his head.

"Ow!" May cried holding the bleeding wound on her leg as she jumped up and down in pain "ow ow ow ow!"

Torchic shook his head, embarrassed at his bug type partner's actions. _"Oh lord..."_

"I don't think she can control her pokemon very well" Clark whispered to his younger partner.

Wurmple looked in horror at May's wound. He had just attacked his own trainer! Of course it was an accident, but now he know May would never like him ever again.

"Ow ow ow" May muttered still clinging to the wound on her leg "damnit Wurmple what were you thinking?"

"Ple..." Wurmple muttered ashamed. _"I-I'm sorry..."_

"Quick Geodude while they're all distracted, use Rollout on Torchic!" Clark instructed.

"Don't let Geodude have all the fun, use Stun Spore on Torchic!" Johnson cried.

Geodude and Shroomish abided by their trainers instructions and started to attack. Geodude rolled toward Torchic with its string covered body while Shroomish released a cloud of paralyzing dust toward Torchic to keep him from dodging Geodude's attack.

May was taken by surprise _"shit I got to think of something quick!"_

"Torchic start running to the left!" May yelled (still on one foot and clinging to her bleeding leg) as Geodude came barreling toward Torchic, the cloud of Stun Spore was even closer! Torchic started to run left at an angle. Hopefully May's plan would work.

"Don't let him escape, keep following him!" Clark yelled.

Geodude hearing his trainer's instructions, changed direction and rolled toward Torchic just as the cloud of Stun Spore came into the rock types way.

"Geo!" it cried in pain as it became paralyzed.

"OH NO" both Clark and Johnson cried.

"Now Wurmple, come up from behind Geodude and use String Shot!" May instructed. Wasting no time, Wurmple did as it was told, running past a confused Torchic and shot another String Shot at Geodude.

""Don't stop running, keep going Wurmple!" May cheered as Wurmple slowly started to pull Geodude with the string made from string shot and make him roll "Torchic help Wurmple, use Peck on Geodude's back to make him roll faster!" Torchic did as it was told and Pecked Geodude on the back, helping Wurmple roll Geodude faster. The more Wurmple moved, the faster Geodude rolled.

"Now release him!" May yelled. Wurmple released Geodude, and the rock type barreled straight toward Shroomish.

"Mish!"

WHAM

Geodude struck Shroomish with the force of a semi.

"Shroom..." Shroomish muttered as he swayed to and fro, near unconsciousness.

"Alright" May started, finally on two feet with the wound taken care of "Torchic you use Ember and Wurmple you use Poison Sting!"

Torchic and Shroomish did as they were told and released their respective moves. They struck Shroomish with amazing force, knocking the mushroom pokemon out.

"Oh no Shroomish!" Johnson cried as he ran up to his defeated pokemon and recalled him back into his pokeball "you did great out there, get some rest."

"You too Geodude" Clark said recalling his rock type "return, get some well deserved rest."

"We won!" May exclaimed as she ran over to her Torchic and Wurmple "you two did so great, see what you two can do when you're not at each others throats all the time!"

"Tor!" Torchic chirped, welcoming May's warm embrace. He looked over toward Wurmple, his new friend and partner, and gave him a wink as if to communicate _"good job man, we did great out there! See, we can be great teammates!"_

Wurmple on the other hand was proud that he had come through to get May the win (especially after accidently stabbing her leg) and was glad May wasn't mad at him. How silly, how could he have thought May wouldn't like him anymore! She was too nice to hold any kind of grudge against her pokemon. Even so, he still wanted to upstage that punk Torchic. Ha! Teamwork, it was all him baby, bug type power. Now it was time for one last performance. He gave Torchic a smug look and started to shine brightly taking May, Torchic, Johnson, and Clark by surprise.

"W-Wurmple?" May said dumbfounded, unsure of what was going on "a-are you okay?"

Wurmple continued to shine, gaining intensity with every second, so much that everybody soon had to cover their eyes to protect them from the intense light. Once the light faded, an entirely new pokemon took Wurmple's place. It was a slightly dark shade of white. It was oval-shaped, with a bunch of spikes surrounding the body which were retractable. It was unmoving and silent.

"Tor?" Torchic chirped, curiously observing the new pokemon that laid before it.

"Wow your Wurmple evolved!" Johnson said with excitement in his eyes.

"Evolved?" May said still a little confused as she whipped out her pokedex. _"Silcoon the cocoon pokemon. It prepares for evolution using the energy it stored while it was a Wurmple. It keeps watch over its surroundings with its two eyes."_

"Oh, I guess it like changes into something new. That's what evolved means regarding pokemon right?"

Clark and Johnson both nodded.

"Cool, I have a Silcoon now!"

"Congratulation on your pokemon's evolution, and victory!" Clark happily proclaimed handing May prize money. "Yeah, here you go" Johnson said handing May prize money "I've never seen a pokemon evolve before, it was so cool!"

"Thanks you guys!" May said placing the money in her fanny pack "and thanks for training with me, I really appreciate it."

"No problem" the two trainers both said as May recalled her pokemon and continued on down Route 116.

* * *

She went down the path until she came across a large hill with an opening in it. "Rusturf Tunnel" May said reading a sign situated near the entrance of the opening.

"Don't go in there, it's a dead end!" came a voice from behind May. May turned around to see a young man running up to her.

"Hello" May greeted.

"Hello" the young man replied "sorry, but the tunnel is closed, construction was halted because the machines used to build the tunnel upset the pokemon living in there."

"Oh, thanks for the info" May said smiling.

"No problem" the man said turning to leave.

"Well I guess we'll take a quick break from training and have some lunch" she said to herself. May found a nice clear patch of grass near the tunnel and released her pokemon "Come on out guys!"

The balls opened up and released to separate swirls of red energy. One composed itself into the unmoving bug type Silcoon. It laid on the grass silent.

The other swirl of energy composed itself into May's trusty fire type starter.

"Tor!" Torchic chirped, ready to battle, but when he saw no opponents he turned his head toward May with a confused look on his face "Tor?" _"What's going on? We're not battling."_

"No battling right now" May said with a smile on her face "it's lunch time!"

"Chic!" Torchic chirped happily, he was famished from the earlier battle and ready for some nourishment. _"Good thing too, I'm really hungry!"_

Silcoon stood silent and unmoving.

_"Hmmm I guess he can't move during this stage of evolution...oh well, I guess he's going to miss out on some tasty treats...poor thing..."_

May shook her head and unclipped her green fanny pack from her waist and pulled out a jar of pokefood and a bowl. She filled the bowl with the contents of the jar. Torchic quickly ran towards the jar and started to munch on the pokefood. May walked over to Silcoon to pick him up. Seeing this, Silcoon retracted his spikes (the only things he could move) to allow May to pick him up. With Silcoon nestled safely in her arms, she walked back over to her fanny pack and plopped next to it. She placed Silcoon on her lap as she reached into her fanny pack and pulled out a bag of Oran berries. She began to pop them into her mouth as she watched her little Torchic make a mess of himself as he plunged his head into the bowl. This action made her giggle.

_"Skit...Skit Skit...Skit"_

_"What was that?"_ May thought as her eyes began to droop. She yawned _"how did I get sleepy all of a sudden?"_

_"Skit...Skit Skit...Skit"_

Once again the soft rhythmic purring came about from somewhere in the overgrowth surrounding them. Torchic heard the purring as well and lifted his head out of the bowl. He too began to become drowsy, swaying to and fro as he tried to keep his balance. "Tor..." he yawned as he fell onto his butt as his eyes slowly started to shut.

_"What...the hell...is going...on...zzzzzz"_

Before May and her pokemon could figure out was going on, they had fallen asleep. An familiar four legged figure emerged from the overgrowth.

"Skit Skit!" she meowed slyly. Once again it had triumphed over that girl and her pokemon. This time though, she would have a prize. The little Skitty walked toward the bowl filled with pokefood with her tail held high. She proceeded to munch on the rest of the food. She was soon finished and headed back into the overgrowth.

* * *

**10 Minutes Later...**

May's eyes slowly fluttered open. She sat up from the ground, rubbing her head "what happened?"

"Tor..." Torchic yawned as he too woke up from his nap. He sat on his butt and shook his head vigorously to wake himself up.

"Huh that's weird, all I remember is hearing some weird rhythmic purring, it almost sounded like a song..."

"Chic!" Torchic interrupted looking at an empty bowl save for a few crumbs.

"Wha-Hey! Someone jacked our food!" May exclaimed as she got up (with Silcoon still nestled safely in her arms) and strode over to the empty bowl to investigate the scene.

"Puta madre" May muttered. The bowl was empty, with some of the crumbs and leftover content inside the bowl and strewn about the surrounding area. Whatever did this, did it in a hurry. Another thing May saw were small little paw prints around the 'crime scene'.

_"Hmmm...I guess our culprit wasn't very keen on covering its tracks..."_

May pulled out her pokedex with one hand while the other was wrapped tightly around Silcoon and pointed the device at the tracks. "Any idea who or what did this?" she asked the pokedex.

_"Scanning" _the electronic voice replied. After a few seconds it had an answer _"Tracks are most likely from a Skitty, a pokemon native to the Hoenn Region."_

"Skitty huh, I wonder if it's the same one from earlier..." May muttered with a smile on her face "maybe I can catch it this time!" May walked over to her fanny pack and pulled out Silcoon's pokeball and recalled the bug-type "I'm going to need you to rest in there for a little while my friend." She then picked up her fanny pack and clipped it onto her waist. She placed Silcoon's pokeball on her belt which was situated right above the fanny pack's strap. She turned toward Torchic who was giving her a confused look "c'mon little vato, we've got ourselves a Skitty to catch!"

"Chic" Torchic chirped with a sly smile on its face. Its chance to redeem itself was finally here. It ran into May's arms as she lifted him up and pressed him up against her bosom. With Torchic tucked safely in her arms, she started to follow the tracks into the overgrowth.

* * *

**Minutes Later...**

The sun was starting to head west, bathing the area with a magical purple hue as evening finally arrived. May finally made it out of the overgrowth and followed Skitty's tracks to the start of a rocky cliff.

_"Hmmm I wonder what Skitty's doing up on a hill__" _May pondered to herself as she stared out the tracks. They continued up the hill on a dirt path. At least she now knew she wasn't in an uncharted area. She started up the hill. The tracks continued until halfway up the cliff, she saw something peculiar. Three different sets of tracks joined Skitty's tracks. They were larger and more thicker. May looked farther down the path. It seemed as if the tracks were farther apart, like Skitty started to run.

_"Hmmm...that's interesting" _May thought as she pulled out her pokedex with one hand since her other arm was occupied by her cute fire type. "What kind of tracks are these?" May asked once again.

_"Scanning...the tracks appear to be recent. Although obscured and distorted, it appears to be the tracks of one Skitty and three Whismur."_

"Whismur huh, I wonder why they were following-"

"Chic" Torchic interrupted, suddenly perking up with its beak in the air, smelling the scent in the air, and listening for something. May looked at him confused at what he was doing at first, but then realized Torchic had caught whiff of something or heard something that hear human senses could not pick up on.

"What is it Torchic?"

"SCREECH

Before May could get a response from Torchic, a loud ear deafening screech flooded the area causing both May and Torchic to cringe.

_"What the hell was that!?"_

SCREECH

Once again a loud screech flooded the area, this time accompanied by a loud pained cry of "SKIT."

"I think that Skitty's in trouble!" May told Torchic just as another screech pierced their ear drums. "We need to follow the noise and quick!"

May and Torchic followed the tracks and noises until they found that the tracks came off the path onto the rocky cliff. May and Torchic went off the path as well, now only being lead by the screeches. They soon found the source of the commotion. Three Whismur had Skitty backed into a corner on the cliff face and were screeching loudly to inflict pain on Skitty.

"Hey stop that!" May yelled. The three Whismur turned to face her "what's the matter with you three, ganging up on one pokemon, you all should be ashamed of yourselves!" The Whismurs responded with a loud screech aimed at her.

"Ahhhhh!" May cried in pain as she fell to the floor. "Ah damnit that hurt! Alright Torchic, looks like we're going to have to take these levas out!"

"Tor!" Torchic chirped jumping out of May's arms to face the three Whismur.

"Alright Torchic use Ember on the head honcho, the one in the middle!" May cried.

"Tor!"Torchic released a swarm of fiery projectiles at the Whismur in the center.

"Whis!" the center Whismur cried as it began to wobble, then fell flat on its face knocked out. The Whismur on the right just looked at his downed comrade for a couple of seconds and turned to hos other friend. He nodded his head, gesturing to May and Torchic. The other Whismur nodded its head and charged at Torchic.

_"I guess the one on the right was the head honcho..."_

"Quick Torchic dodge!"

"Tor!" Torchic yelped as it narrowly jumped out of the way of Whismur's Pound attack.

"Quick use Peck!" May instructed.

Torchic quickly bounded back towards Whismur just as the Whismur used Uproar and let loose with a loud screech, stopping Torchic in its tracks.

"Whis Whis" the lead Whismur chuckled as it watched the battle unfold. May, Torchic, and the two Whismur's did not notice the loosening rock above the lead Whismur's head (probably from the non-stop screeches), but Skitty noticed. With everybody distracted by the battle, Skitty crept toward the cliff face and used Double Slap on the rock wall, striking it twice. This action got everyone's attention.

_"What's Skitty doing?"_

CRACK

May was about to get her answer. The rock above the head Whismur fell and landed on its head, knocking it out. The Whismur fighting with Torchic immediately stopped. He glanced at his knocked out leader, than to Torchic and May. He did this several times until he realized his back up was gone, then ran off.

"That was good thinking Skitty" May said, walking over to the pink kitten.

"Skit" she purred, rubbing up against May's leg, she was happy that May had come to help her even after she stole May's lunch. _"Thank you kind ma'am. I can't believe you came to save me even though I stole your lunch."_

"You're certainly affectionate aren't you" May giggled as she kneeled down to pet Skitty. Skitty jumped into May's arms causing May to fall on her butt. "Skit" Skitty purred some more as it cuddled up against May's chest.

"Well it looks like I've made a new friend, right Torchic" May chuckled, pulling out her pokedex to document Skitty properly, and check her moves.

_"Skitty the kitten pokemon. A Skitty's adorably cute behavior makes it highly popular. In battle, it makes its tail puff out. It threatens foes with a sharp growl. Known moves: Double Slap, Tackle, Sing, Assist, Attract."_

"Tor!" Torchic replied, walking over to May to meet the new member of the team. "Tor-Torchic!" the little fire type chirped, greeting the pink kitten._ "Hello, my names Torchic. I know we battled earlier, but now that we are a team, I think we can be friends."_

"Skitty!" Skitty meowed jumping out of May's arms to greet Torchic by giving him an approving lick on the cheek. _"That sounds fantastic."_

"Tor..." Torchic mumbled, surprised by Skitty's action. Slowly hearts grew into his eyes making Skitty giggle. May walked over to the two pokemon "I'm glad you're both getting along well, so Skitty..." May started, pulling out a pokeball from her fanny pack "do you want to join the team?"

"Skitty" she replied, nodding her head.

"That's great!" May exclaimed as she placed the pokeball onto the ground. Skitty walked up to it and pressed the button on the center with her tail. The pokeball opened, making Skitty a red swirl of energy that became stored in the pokeball. The pokeball closed and stated to shake once...twice...

_Ping_

May had caught Skitty. May picked up the pokeball containing her new pokemon. She smiled as the setting sun struck the pokeball, making it glisten with an orange glow. May clipped the pokeball onto her belt and pulled out Torchic's pokeball. "Alright little vato, it's been a long day, I think we should start heading back to Rustboro. We have to get a good night's sleep to start training early tomorrow."

"Tor..." Torchic replied with hearts still in his eyes. _"Wow, she's beautiful..."_

May chuckled _"Looks like someone has a crush!" _

"Return Torchic" May said, recalling her fire type. With Torchic's pokeball clipped onto her belt, she made her way back to Rustboro City.

* * *

**Later inside a guest room at the Rustboro City Pokémon Center...**

May emerged from the bathroom with a towel around her curvy body, and another wrapped around her chestnut brown hair. She sat on her bed, and lifted her fanny pack onto her lap. She pulled out clean undergarments and a blue nightgown. Before she put it on, she began to go over everything she had done to get ready for bed.

_"Okay, so I healed my pokemon, put my clothes in the wash _(A/N: In my story, every pokemon center has a washing machine where May washes her clothes before bed)_, brushed my teeth, and took a shower...yup everything seems to be completed. I guess all I need to do now is put on my night gown and go to bed."_

May removed the towel around her body and put on her undergarments and night gown. She wrung her hair out with the towel on her head, and then when that was finished, she removed it, letting her pretty brown hair free. She went back into the bathroom to put the towels away, and then came back into the bedroom. She removed her pendant and placed it on the dresser next to the bed, and eased herself under the covers, letting the warm blankets whisk her away to another realm, the realm of dreams and nightmares, the realm of our resting mind. She would need it, because for the next two days she would train rigorously for her rematch with Roxanne.


	9. Brendan and The Rich Boy

**This chapter will not focus on May, but rather her friend Brendan! Don't worry, May will be back in the next chapter, but I thought it would be nice to see what Brendan get's himself into while May's training. This will be the first in many other Brendan centered chapters. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own ****The Strokes ****or any of their songs. Why am I writing this you ask? It's because I will be referencing their song ****Reptillia ****in this chapter. That's right I will be referencing different bands and songs throughout the course of this story, my story is going to have its own little soundtrack! I urge all you readers to look up these songs after (or during) reading the chapters to maybe find a new band or genre of music you might like. **

** Brendan and the Rich Kid**

"_Ahhhh…morning in Route 102"_

Brendan stretched and got out of his sleeping bag. His eyes were greeted by the sight of large Evergreens hovering over him as their leaves and branches glowed with a vibrant hue given by the morning sun. He took in a deep breath of clean fresh air, savoring it in his lungs as his ears were greeted with the chirps and cries of wild pokemon who like him, were waking up to the beautiful Hoenn morning.

"Looks like the start to a great day!" Brendan said to himself as he eased out of his sleeping bag he had slept in, and rolled it up and fastened it to two straps on top of his backpack, which was situated next to a campfire that had been long burned out, nothing but ash and the rocks circled around it. Brendan opened his backpack and pulled out a toothbrush, a cup, and toothpaste, and headed toward a small pond about a few yards east of where he had set up camp, past a patch of tall grass with morning dew still glistening of the healthy green blades. He walked through the grass and reached the pond. He looked at the clear still water that shot back a reflection of his jolly self. His jet black hair was a wild mess, which only added to the 'just got out of bed look' that his white t-shirt and baggy sweat pants conveyed. He smiled at his reflection and kneeled down to fill the tin cup with fresh water, disturbing the pond and causing ripples to spread across the body of water. Brendan placed the cup next to him, and stood back up. He placed a glob of toothpaste onto his toothbrush and started to brush his teeth.

**3 Minutes Later…**

Brendan removed the toothbrush from his foamy mouth and picked up the cup filled with water. He poured some onto his toothbrush and placed it into his pocket along with the toothpaste. He then lifted the cup up to his mouth and poured the rest of the water into his mouth.

_Gargle Gargle_

Brendan spat the water out onto the grass (preferring not to get the pond contaminated with his mouth germs. With his mouth minty and fresh, he looked up to see the blue sky. He sighed deeply with a smile on his face. As you can tell, our friend Brendan loves nature and the outdoors. While our other friend May absolutely loves nature as well, she was more akin to sleep indoors unlike Brendan, who would rather sleep outdoors where you were encompassed by the swaying trees and the indifferent sky hovering above the world with all its flaws.

"Well well, today seems like a really nice day" Brendan muttered to himself.

"_**Yeah, hopefully today will be a better day for you. Maybe today you'll ACTUALLY catch pokemon rather than scare them off."**_

"Hey look here brain, I may have screwed up yesterday with the whole catching and documenting pokemon thing, but I have a feeling today will be different."

"_**I don't think yesterday was a bad day, I think you don't have your head in the game. For some strange reason, you're mind is elsewhere…"**_

"Oh that's baloney, my mind is fine. Yesterday was just a fluke…"

"_**No it wasn't, you're mind was elsewhere yesterday, I know it!"**_

"_How the hell would you know?"_

"_**Because I am your mind idiot!"**_

"Oh well if you're mind, you should know what was on my mind that had me distracted, so tell me, what was distracting me?...Go on tell me…"

"_**Hehehe, I don't need to tell you. You already know what I'm talking about."**_

"I can assure you I don't."

"_**Yes you do! You just don't want to accept it!"**_

"Accept what? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"_**Hahahahaha! How cute, trying to argue with yourself! I am you, so I know that you know what I'm talking about."**_

"You know what; I really don't want to keep this up. I'm just going to head back to camp and get ready to catch some pokemon."

"_**Alright, just don't get caught up in those spring flowers, it really is a fine day in May today…"**_

Brendan shrugged and headed back to camp.

* * *

Once Brendan reached camp again, he pulled his trainer clothes out and put them on. He placed his pajamas into his backpack and zipped it close. He slung the straps over his shoulders, and was ready …just one more thing. He grabbed his hat from the pocket in his pants, and placed the peculiar hat onto his head. You may ask why Brendan wore such a weird hat. The answer is not something very profound or deep, he simply thought it was very comfortable. Sure it did warrant some laughs from strangers, but to him comfort was everything, so he put up with the silly hat.

"Well it looks like I'm all ready, time to look for some pokemon" he pulled out his pokeball "come on out Mudkip."

Out of Brendan's pokeball came his blue water type axolotl pokemon.

"Mudkip!" it said, happy to see his trainer.

"Hey Mud, how're you felling today?" Brendan asked

"Kip" Mudkip said simply as if to say he was doing pretty well.

"Glad to hear that cause today I have a feeling we'll actually catch some pokemon, unlike yesterday…"

"Mud" Mudkip chuckled remembering the day before. They could not close to any pokemon because Brendan for some reason had to step on a twig, or move a little too loud, and he scared the pokemon away. Yesterday he was distracted and definitely not in his A game. Hopefully today he wouldn't screw up.

"Come on Mudkip, let's go catch some pokemon!" Brendan said loudly.

"Kip" Mudkip said with a look on his face that said "that's the kind of shit that scares pokemon away."

Brendan saw Mudkip's look and immediately became quieter "oops! You're right. Come on let's go find some pokemon!" he whispered.

Mudkip nodded, and the two friends went into the overgrowth in search of new and rare pokemon.

* * *

**30 Minutes Later…**

"It's been half an hour and we haven't seen a single pokemon!" Brendan whined as he found a rock to sit down on and collect his thoughts. Mudkip jumped onto his lap.

"Is it me? Am I just bad at finding pokemon?" Brendan muttered with his hands holding up his face "naw that can't be right, I've sneaked up on pokemon before, even yesterday I at least saw some, but today I haven't seen shit."

Mudkip just shrugged.

"Is it because I stink?" Brendan muttered as he lifted up one of his arms to sniff his armpit "I don't smell anything, do you smell anything Mudkip?" Mudkip leaned in close and took two whiffs.

_Sniff Sniff_

"Kip" Mudkip said shaking its head.

"Well if it isn't me, could it be that they're all still sleeping or something?"

"Mud" Mudkip said nodding its head, agreeing that it could be a possibility.

"Can you sense any pokemon around here?" Brendan asked. Mudkip lifted its nose into the air. After taking a couple of whiffs, he turned to Brendan and shook his head.

"Well I guess that they are still sleeping" Brendan muttered.

_Grumble_

"Oh my, it seems like my stomach sure isn't sleeping!" he chuckled "how about we go to Petalburg to get some breakfast, then we'll come back here to look for some pokemon."

"Kip!" Mudkip exclaimed he was happy with the plan.

"Alright, let's get going, return" he said recalling his Mudkip back into his pokeball as he got up from the rock, and went onto Route 102's dirt path to head back to Petalburg.

* * *

"Here I am, back in Petalburg" Brendan muttered to himself as he walked down the clean tree lined streets of Petalburg.

"_I can't wait to have a bite to eat; just thinking about breakfast has got my mouth watering."_ Brendan continued down the street when he saw a poster on the side of a pokemart depicting the three starter pokemon of the Hoenn Region: Treeko, Mudkip, and Torchic. Torchic reminded him of his friend May. _"I wonder if May is still here in Petalburg, it would nice to see her…hey maybe should go ask Norman if she beat his gym!" _Brendan pulled out his pokenav to find his way to his new destination, Petalburg Gym. "I'll just stop by quick, and then find some breakfast" Brendan said to himself as he followed the directions on his pokenav.

"_Ahhh…May….What a nice girl. Always so happy and giddy, and so…__**cute?**_ _Hey wait a minute their Birch, you can't be thinking about May like that, she's your friend…well I guess it doesn't hurt to acknowledge she's cute, and still be friends, because there's no denying she's got an adorable little face,_ _**and curves on her like a damn roller-**__hey tone it down there Brendan, that's getting a little too explicit!" _He scolded himself as he shook his head _"that's enough about May for now…maybe I should go eat first, it doesn't seem right to go talk to her dad after almost going into detail about her uhh…assets." _So it was decided, Brendan would change his course back to a diner in Petalburg. _"Just in case some sinful thoughts pop into my mind, I think I should listen to some music, just so my mind is busy processing tunes rather than thought-raping friends." _Brendan pulled out a device that read C.H.O.D.E (Changeable Hearing Output Device Extraordinaire), along with a pair of white headphones. He placed the headphones into his ears, and turned the C.H.O.D.E on. A lovely tune started to play.

"_He seemed impressed by the way you came in"_

"_Tell us a story"_

"_I know you're not boring"_

Brendan walked down the streets of Petalburg heading toward the closest diner, shaking his head to the music as he took in the beautiful sights.

"_I was afraid you would not insist"_

"_You sound so sleepy"_

"_Just take this, now leave me!"_

All around him, people walked to and from destinations, Brendan only a witness to a small part of their own little play called life.

"_I said please don't slow me down!"_

"_If I'm going too fast!"_

"_You're in a strange part of our town!"_

Brendan laid his eyes upon children playing near a fountain made to resemble a coiled Gyarados. A small blue pokemon with four skinny legs skimmed to and fro across the water, playfully squirting the kids with water.

"_Yeah, the night's not over"_

"_You're not trying hard enough"_

"_Our lives are changing lanes"_

"_You ran me off the road"_

"_The wait is over"_

"_I'm now taking over"_

"_You're no longer laughing"_

"_I'm not drowning fast enough!"_

Something caught Brendan's eyes…it was a diner. Finally he would have some grub in his stomach!

"_Now every time that I look at myself"_

"_I thought I told you"_

"_This world is not for you"_

"_The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair!"_

"_you sound so angry"_

"_Just calm down you found me!"_

Brendan approached the diner with pep in his step. He opened the diner doors, and approached the counter with a smiling waitress behind it.

"_I said please don't slow me down!"_

_If I'm going too-"_

Brendan pulled out his earphones, and turned off his C.H.O.D.E. **(A/N: Once again, the song that was played on Brendan's C.H.O.D.E was ****Reptillia****, written and performed by the band ****The Strokes.**** I have nothing to do with the ****The Strokes****, and only referenced their song to add flavor to my story).**

"Hello young sir" the waitress greeted with a smile "would you like me to show you to a table?"

"Of yes, that would be wonderful" Brendan replied. The waitress nodded, and gestured for him to follow her. Brendan complied and followed the lady to a table that had a nice view of the courtyard of a large park. The courtyard was filled with healthy green blades of grass, while the perimeter was lined with pretty flowers. In the middle stood a portable platform being set up by a group of two men. It seemed as if something was going to transpire over there.

"Would you like to order now?" the beaming waitress asked warmly.

"Oh yes, can I please have some waffles with chocolate milk?"

"Of course" The waitress replied "I will be right back with your order" and with that, the waitress went into the kitchen to get Brendan's food.

Brendan shifted his gaze back to the courtyard. What were those people doing? What was going to happen over there? It looked like something big and fun because he noticed a crowd of young trainers crowding around the platform. "What the hell is going on around over there?"

"Here you are young sir!"

This broke Brendan away from his gaze. The waitress had set a plate with syrup doused waffles in front of him, as well as a glass cup full of frothy chocolate milk. _"Oh that looks good"_ Brendan thought to himself, licking his lips. "Thank you ma'am" Brendan said politely to the waitress.

"Enjoy young sir" the waitress said with a smile as she left to service other customers.

"Man oh man, this is going to be good!" Brendan mumbled as he started to dig into his delicious meal. As he ate, his eyes went back to the courtyard. This time a full blown crowd crowded around the platform. The Platform had a banner that read "Win a Rare Pokemon." This roused Brendan's interest.

"_Rare pokemon huh"_

Brendan wolfed down the rest of the waffles, poured the chocolate milk down his throat and pulled out two pieces of paper, a pencil, and his wallet. He wrote two notes, one said "for the meal" and the other read "for you." Brendan pulled out some money and placed two individual stacks on the two pieces of paper, and exited the diner.

* * *

Brendan approached the platform in the courtyard, making his way through the courtyard. He reached a spot in the crowd with a nice view and looked at the platform. Two identical obese men in overalls stood with microphones talking.

"Hello everyone my name's Tweedle-douche" said one of the men.

"And I'm Tweedle-Dick" said the other "We travel from town to town, from region to region to give young trainers an opportunity to get rare and exotic pokemon."

"Yes" Tweedle-Douche chimed in "just because we're nice guys. It's certainly not because we work with questionable organizations to get rid of evidence or as we call it in our line of work 'hot' items, in this case pokemon. No we do it because we're such nice guys!"

"Yeah" Tweedle-Dick chimed in once more "just don't tell your parents we gave them to you, if they ask, just tell them you found the pokemon on your way back home from school or something."

"Alright now that all that's out of the way, it's time to show you all what pokemon you can win today!" Tweedle-Douche proclaimed.

Murmurs of excitement flooded the courtyard.

"Today's rare pokemon is the acorn pokemon known as Seedot!" Tweedle-Dick exclaimed "yes Seedots are very rare, most live deep in the dark dense forests of south-west Hoenn, but today if you're lucky, you can have one for free!"

Tweedle-Douche brought on stage a rectangular box with a dark cloth draped over it. He pulled the cloth off revealing a somewhat angry looking acorn-like pokemon with two feet. "Now this Seedot is a rough customer, he fought really hard, hell we almost couldn't take him from that nice little girl over in-"

Tweedle-Dick quickly ran over to his counterpart and placed his hand over his mouth "what my partner meant to say was that it's time to tell you all how you'll be able to win this fine pokemon."

"Oh yes" Tweedle-Douche said as Tweedle-Dick removed his hand from his mouth "the way you'll win this Seedot will require no real effort on your part, just the ability to catch a ball…"

Tweedle-Dick pulled a basket full of numbered plastic balls on stage "now what we have here are some balls with numbers on them, we'll throw them into the air, and you catch them. Then we'll call a number out and if you have the ball with the correct number, you win!"

"This is a good old fashioned raffle people!" Tweedle-Douche said "there shouldn't be any confusion."

With that said, Tweedle-Douche grabbed the basket full of balls, and heaved it into the air, showering the crowd.

All hell broke loose.

Kids scrambled all around to grab the balls. Kids got smacked, kicked, trampled, or worse. Brendan himself was trampled under a wave of ten year olds. Luckily for him though, as he was pinned to the ground by the barrage of little feet, he saw a ball. He quickly grabbed it and held it to his chest, waiting for the chaos to end. A few minutes later, all the kids had their own numbered ball. Brendan slowly got up, his face and body bruised, and his hair a mess. He quickly put his hat on to hide his wild hair. He looked at the number on his ball.

"_Number 77 _**(A/N: Can you figure out what reference this is from? I'll give you a hint, you can't be wrong in a world filled with INFINITE possibilities!) **_I hope I didn't go through that all for nothing" _Brendan thought to himself as he rubbed his wounds.

"Alright, the number I'm thinking off is…" Tweedle-Dick started. "Number 77!" Tweedle-Douche yelled, finishing Tweedle-Dick's sentence.

"_Lucky me" _Brendan thought to himself as he raised the ball into the air "I'm number 77." Disappointed groans permeated the courtyard.

"Oh we have a winner!" Tweedle-Dick proclaimed as Tweedle-Douche dragged he box containing the Seedot "Number 77 come claim your prize!"

Brendan wadded through the crowd and walked up on stage. Brendan didn't realize how tall the fat men were, they both towered over him. They were probably around 6'2.

"Looks like this is your lucky day" Tweedle-Dick said with a mischievous smile as his partner captured Seedot into a pokeball, and handed Brendan the pokeball. "He's your pokemon now" Tweedle-Douche said before turning to the crowd "now everybody, I going to have to ask you all to disperse, there's no reason to stay, we already have a winner."

The mob of kids moaned and began to leave the area, all but one. This boy wore a blue suit and a black tie. He had wavy blonde hair and a smug smile plastered to his face.

"Hey kid, there's nothing else here go home" Tweedle-Dick said, making a shooing motion with his hands onstage.

"I want that pokemon" the boy said bluntly "how bout I pay you two fine full figured men to give me the pokemon rather than that horrid looking boy standing next to you" the boy said, catching the attention of the two men.

"Hey I'm not horrid!" Brendan yelled, glaring at the smug boy in the suit.

"How much money do you have" Tweedle-Dick asked, rubbing his hands together anxiously.

"Well since I'm very rich, I could pay you two…10,000 pokedollars each."

Both men gasped.

"10,000 dollars…"

"Each…"

The boy nodded his head "each."

Tweedle-Dick walked over toward Brendan and snatched the pokeball away from him.

"Hey!" Brendan whined "but I won the raffle!"

"To bad!" Tweedle-Dick shouted back.

"You can't just tell someone they won something, and then take it back!"

"So, what are you going to do about it?!" Tweedle-Dick shouted once again, shooting Brendan a glare.

"Oh uhh…" Brendan muttered, cowering at the fat man's death stare.

"That's what I thought" Tweedle-Dick smirked as he got ready to throw the pokeball over to the rich kid.

"Wait!" Brendan cried before Tweedle-Dick could toss the pokeball over to the boy "how about me and that rich kid battle for the Seedot."

"Are you kidding, we're going to get 10,000 dollars from this stupid pokemon" Tweedle-Dick scoffed as he once again got ready to throw the pokeball to the rich boy.

"Wait!" Tweedle-Douche interrupted, stopping his partner from giving the pokeball to the rich boy.

"What now?"

"I want to see this battle" Tweedle-Douche replied.

"Wha-but dude, it's 10,000 dollars!" Tweedle-Dick protested.

"I want to see a battle; I haven't had any fun at all since we came to this region!"

"But- it's-Arggg fine!" Tweedle-Dick shouted, giving in to his partner "we'll let them battle…"

"All right!" Brendan proclaimed as he jumped off the platform to challenge the rich boy "looks like you're not getting Seedot so easily."

"Hmpf" the rich boy grunted "this battle is just a minor inconvenience, I paid a lot of money for my pokemon, there's no way I can lose." The boy pulled out a pokeball and tossed it casually tossed it.

Out of the pokeball came a small raccoon-like pokemon with white and brown zigzag striped fur.

"Zagoon!" it cried playfully running in circles.

"Okay let's do this, go Mudkip!" Brendan cried, releasing his axolotl pokemon from the confines of its pokeball.

"Mudkip!" he cried ready to battle.

"You ready buddy?" Brendan whispered to Mudkip.

"Kip" Mudkip nodded.

"Okay then, let's start this off with a Growl!" Brendan yelled.

Mudkip inhaled deeply to get his lungs nice and ready, and let loose with a sharp attack lowering growl.

"Use Tackle" the rich boy said simply.

Zigzagoon did as it was told and charged at Mudkip, the smile on its face never leaving.

"Dodge and use Water Gun!" Brendan instructed.

Mudkip leapt out of Zigzagoon's way and shot the tiny raccoon with a quick but powerful burst of water.

"Zagoon!" Zigzagoon cried in pain as the water stream struck him. He quickly got back up and shook himself to dry himself off.

"Try Tackle one more time" the rich boy said, trying his best to keep worry from showing in his voice.

Zigzagoon once again charged at Mudkip, with that big carefree smile once again plastered to his face.

"Another Water Gun!" Brendan cried.

Once again Mudkip let loose with a powerful water jet, striking Zigzagoon right in the face.

"Zagoon…" Zigzagoon muttered as he skidded across the ground knocked out.

"Yes we did it!" Brendan proclaimed with his fists in the air.

"Mud!" Mudkip exclaimed, celebrating the victory as well.

"Wha-b-but I paid so much money for that Zigzagoon…" the boy said in disbelief.

"I guess money can't buy you everything now can it" Brendan smirked.

This made the boy extremely red faced "you know what, you can keep that Seedot, and this pathetic pokemon!" the boy yelled throwing Zigzagoon's pokeball to the ground next to the defeated normal type.

"Hey don't talk about this poor pokemon that way!" Brendan yelled, running up to the knocked out Zigzagoon to pet it gently "you're the one who couldn't battle properly!"

"Don't forget your prize money!" the boy shouted, throwing a handful of dollars at Brendan, and walked away, disappearing into the city

"That guy is a dick" Brendan muttered as he softly stroked Zigzagoon's fur.

"Kip" Mudkip agreed, shaking his head in disapproval at the rich boy's words.

"Don't listen to him" Brendan said warmly to the knocked out Zigzagoon "he doesn't have any idea about what he's talking about, you deserve much better."

Brendan grabbed the pokeball and recalled the Zigzagoon "looks like I'm going to take care of you from now on" he said smiling "well Mudkip, I guess we have a new addition to the team."

"Kip!" Mudkip said smiling, happy to have a new friend in the team that he could talk to (other than Brendan).

"You're getting another to" said a voice from behind Brendan. Brendan quickly turned around, just to see a pokeball barreling toward him. Brendan using his quick reflexes caught the pokeball before it could hit him.

"There's your Seedot" Tweedle-Douche said with a smile on his chubby face "that was a great match."

"Thanks" Brendan replied while he rolled the pokeball around in his hands.

"Yeah, I admit it was a great match" Tweedle-Dick chimed in "but I would've rather had the 10,000 dollars…oh well, I didn't like that rich prick anyways!"

"He was a real asshole wasn't he" Brendan chuckled.

"Sure was, well I guess we've been in town long enough."

"Yeah, I think we'd better leave before the cops hear about us!"

With those words said, Tweedle-Douche and Tweedle-Dick hastily took apart the platform in a haze of fervor and dust. They then left as quickly as they came, leaving Brendan alone in the courtyard.

"_Well maybe I should go heal my new pokemon"_

"Return Mudkip" Brendan said, recalling his water type. He pulled out his pokenav to find directions to the pokemon center.

"_Okay, it's just three blocks north east of here"_

Brendan put his pokenav away and started toward the center, picking up the prize money from the ground as he went.

* * *

**Later at the Pokemon Center…**

"Here you go, your pokemon are fully healed!" Nurse Joy proclaimed smiling sweetly.

"Thank you" Brendan replied as he turned and went to the center's lounge to document and meet his new team. He sat on a sofa and stretched out.

"It's been a long day, and its only noon!" Brendan mumbled to himself as he took off his hat to ruffle his dark hair. He casually unclipped the pokeballs on his belt and released his team.

"Seed" Seedot muttered, indifferent to his trainer.

"_I think he needs some time to warm up to me."_

"Kip!" Mudkip said happily, eager to meet his new teammates. "Kip Kip" he said, walking over to Seedot. "Seed" Seedot mumbled, not to excited to meet his new trainer or Mudkip.

"Zagoon!" Zigzagoon proclaimed happily with closed eyes, feeling much better after being healed. He opened his eyes, and was surprised to see Brendan looking down on him rather than his original trainer. "Zagoon?" he yelped confused, wasn't this the trainer he had battled earlier?

"Hey Zigzagoon" Brendan said nervously, knowing it must be awkward for Zigzagoon to be with someone other than his original trainer.

"_Oh boy, how am I going to break the news to him that his trainer abandoned him?"_

Brendan took a deep breath "You're probably wondering why you're here with me and why you're trainer is nowhere in sight."

Zigzagoon nodded.

Brendan caught a glimpse of Mudkip with a sad expression on his face. He knew what had happened, and wasn't looking forward to seeing Brendan tell Zigzagoon the bad news.

"_ah jeez, this is going to be tough"_

"I-it's just, It's just…."

Zigzagoon stared at him with wide eyes.

"_Oh I can't tell this poor pokemon that his good for nothing trainer abandoned him, It's not right!"_

"It's just that your trainer gave you to me!" Brendan said quickly. Mudkip looked at Brendan confused. Zigzagoon was still listening intently.

"After he lost, he felt bad that he couldn't bring an amazing pokemon like you to its full potential, so he gave you to me!" Brendan proclaimed, trying his best to keep his lie slip right from his teeth "I'm your new trainer!"

"Mud?" Mudkip muttered confused. Why was Brendan lying? He looked over toward the raven haired trainer with a confused expression.

Brendan shot Mudkip a 'just keep your mouth shut' look.

"Mud" Mudkip nodded, finally realizing what Brendan was doing, and began to look around suspiciously, like someone who was trying his best not to be noticed.

Zigzagoon stared at Brendan for a long while until the joyful smile came back onto the normal type's face.

"Zagoon!" it cried happily as it leapt onto Brendan, licking his new trainers face.

"Ahhh no Zigagoon stop!" Brendan pleaded, but the hyper raccoon did not relent "ewwww, it's all sticky!" Brendan whined as Zigzagoon continued its assault.

Mudkip chuckled, while Seedot stood silent. After a few more slobbery minutes, Brendan was finally able to get Zigzagoon off.

"Jeez, you're an energetic one aren't you" Brendan muttered, pulling out a napkin from his backpack to wipe the slobber off his face.

"Zagoon!" the normal type replied, wagging his tail enthusiastically.

"Well I think it's time for us to hit the road, but before I do that…" Brendan pulled out his pokedex "it's documentation time!" He first pointed it at Zigzagoon.

"_Zigzagoon the tiny raccoon pokemon. Rubbing its nose against the ground, it always wanders about back and forth in search of something. It is distinguished by the zigzag footprints it leaves."_

"Interesting" Brendan muttered as he pointed the pokedex to Seedot.

"_Seedot the acorn pokemon. It hangs off branches and absorbs nutrients. When it finishes eating, its body becomes so heavy that it drops to the ground with a thump."_

"Okay, now that you all have been documented in the pokedex, we can leave" Brendan said recalling all three of his pokemon and clipping the pokeballs onto his belt. He put on his hat, and left the center.

"_Here I am back in Petalburg. Let's see, what was I going to do after I had breakfast?...oh that's right! Head back to Route 102 to look for pokemon! But I already got two today…screw it, I guess I'll just hang around Petalburg for awhile…hey maybe I could stock up on some supplies to pass the time. I can use the prize money from earlier…"_

With his mind decided, Brendan walked over to the nearest pokemon mart, conveniently on the opposite side of the street from the Pokemon Center. What luck! Brendan crossed the street and entered the store.

* * *

Brendan was immediately greeted by a cool AC blowing onto his face, sending a refreshing chill down his back. He observed his surroundings. All around him were aisles and aisles of pokemon merchandise. He grabbed a plastic basket and started to shop. He went down the aisles picking up potions, Hearts From Hoenn brand Full Heals, poke-food, anything that he needed for his journey. When he was done, he went to the counter.

"That will be 1,000 pokedollars young sir" said the store clerk from behind the counter.

"Perfect, he exact amount of prize money I got" Brendan muttered. Before Brendan could hand the clerk the money, he spotted a pokenav on a shelf behind the clerk. His mind instantly went to May and how she told him she never had cool electronics like that (other than her computer which she had to wait 3 years to save up enough money to buy it).

"_Hey, maybe I should buy that for May, I'm sure she'll love it!"_ Brendan thought to himself _"that way we can stay in touch just like true friends. What? There's no other motive, I swear! Don't give me that look reader! I know where you live! I'm just buying it because….because….I'm such a nice guy….oh I don't need to explain myself to you!"_

"How much is that pokenav?" Brendan asked.

"700 dollars" the clerk replied.

"700!" Brendan exclaimed "that will only leave me with enough for the pokefood...screw it, I'll buy it!" Brendan said placing all the other items except the pokefood to the side as the clerk brought the pokenav down from the shelf. Brendan handed him the money, and the clerk began to put the items in a paper bag.

"Oh you don't need to do that, I'll just keep it in my backpack" Brendan said pointing to his back.

"Whatever you say young sir" the clerk replied, handing Brendan the two items "have a good day!"

"You to, have a good day" Brendan replied as he put the purchased items into his backpack. He was once again on his way to Route 102.

"_Overall, today is going real swell. I had a great breakfast, meet SOME nice people, and got two new pokemon! Hopefully I'll find even more on Route 102…I can't wait to see May again, and see the look on her face when I give her the pokenav. She'll be so happy that I remembered she didn't have many leisure items. She'll probably be like 'oh thank you Brendan, this is so nice of you! You're the best friend ever! Odelay! What does Odelay even mean? I got to ask her about that one…Oh look Route 102!" _Brendan finally reached the entrance to Route 102 _"Okay, I'm going to feed my team, than we're going to go wild pokemon hunting! _Brendan exclaimed in his mind. Once again Brendan was on the hunt for new pokemon to document, but this time he had two new friends. To make a long story short, he would feed his pokemon, look around for wild pokemon, and find…nothing….just like the day before. Oh well, that won't keep Brendan down, there's always tomorrow!

**So this chapter was an intro to Brendan's character, did you like it? If not, tell me how you think I could improve it because there will be more Brendan centered chapters later in the story. So today is the first day of summer break! Fuck yeah! Summer in California baby, it's going to be great! Hopefully, I'll be able to finish this story before the start of the new school year. Well that's all I got to say for now, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!**


	10. Two Triumphs, One Day

** Two Triumphs, One Day**

_"Nick NO, please wake up please!" May pleaded as she shook her lifeless friend. Why had this happened? Why did god allow this?_

_"Just pour a little for me...and move on"_

_His words rang in her ear._

_"I-I don't know if I can, please don't leave..."_

_Nick was silent with his lifeless hazel eyes staring into her very much alive eyes with tears streaming down onto her soft cheeks. _

_"Don't leave..."_

* * *

_Ring, Ring_

May opened her tear filled eyes.

_Ring, Ring_

"Uggg that damn clock" May muttered; slamming her open palm upon the alarm clock to make it shut up, she wasn't in the mood for its ringing after her dream.

May looked around. Nick was not lying on the floor dying, she was safe and sound in the Rustboro City Pokemon Center's guest room, snuggled in the middle of her bed with the covers pulled over her. She grabbed the her pendant that was situated on the dresser next to her bed and rubbed it to calm herself down.

_"Damn that dream, I can't have it getting in the way of my performance"_ May thought to herself as she continued to rub the pendant _"come on May get your head together, you need to be in tip-top shape for the gym!"_

May placed the pendant back on the dresser and headed toward the bathroom to ready herself for today's gym battle.

**34 minutes later…**

May stepped out of the bathroom, towels wrapped around both her body and her head. May got out her casual clothes and laid them on her bed as she took off the towel on her head, letting her slightly moist brown hair fall gently to her shoulders. Then she removed the towel from her body revealing her naked form. May quickly put on her clothes, tied her pendant around her neck, and wrapped her green bandanna onto her head.

May said to herself as she rubbed her temples "just think winner." After telling herself this, she left the guest room and entered the pokemon center's lounge. "Bye Nurse Joy, and thanks again for letting me stay in the guest room" May said as she exited the pokemon center. May stepped out to a sunbathed Rustboro, with the blue sky overhead, and started toward the Rustboro City Gym.

* * *

**On the other side of town…**

_"Do you still have sight of him?"_ came a voice from Admin Miklo's sleeve.

"Of course" Miklo replied, his eyes set on an ominous blue uniformed figure hunched in an alley talking to a small radio. Miklo himself was situated at a table parallel to the alley outside a diner, having breakfast of Kalosian toast and Grumpig Ham.

_"Remember the mission Miklo, we want this grunt to succeed in obtaining those Devon goods, or whatever Jonathan called them. Just don't let him or any citizen on to your presence."_

"Yeah I know, hide in plain sight" Miklo muttered as he cut a strip of ham and placed it in his mouth.

_"You better not screw up, or you know what'll happen..."_

"I know what will happen if I fail, just shut up and let me focus."

_"Fine, just remember to report back for any updates on the mission's status."_

"Will do, signing off" and with that, Miklo turned off the radio in his sleeve and continued with his meal.

* * *

**Back to May**

May stood outside of the Rustboro City gym, ready for her rematch.

_"This time I won't lose"_

May took a deep breath and opened the doors to the Rustboro Gym.

_"Here goes nothing."_

Roxanne stood on the opposite side of the field reading a hardcover book. She quickly closed the book and looked toward May "I knew you would come back, are you ready for your rematch? You must be, you've been away for...two days I believe."

"Two and a half" May corrected "two and a half days of constant training, hour after hour, day after day. I'm pretty sure I'm finally ready."

"That's great! Do you still remember the gym rules?" Roxanne asked.

"Of course!" May replied.

"Well let's get this match started then!" Roxanne proclaimed pulling out a pokeball "go Geodude!" she yelled throwing the pokeball and releasing a familiar rock pokemon. "Geodude!" it roared.

May unclipped her first pokeball from her belt "Alright here goes nothing, go Skitty!" May yelled releasing her cute pink kitten pokemon. "Skit Sit" she meowed wagging her tail cutely. She looked harmless, hardly a challenge for a gym leader.

_"Time to see if all that training was for something."_

"Normal type huh" Roxanne commented slightly confused that May was going to go up against her rock type team with a normal type "let's see what you have up your sleeve, Alright Geodude use Rollout!" Roxanne cried. Wasting no time, Geodude barreled down the dirt battlefield toward the normal type kitten, leaving a trail of dust behind it.

"Quick Skitty, dodge and use Growl!" May instructed. Skitty narrowly evaded Geodude by jumping out of the way. She then let out a sharp growl that lowered Geodude's attack.

_"That's it Skitty, wear down the rock!"_

"Trying to lower his attack are you" Roxanne said with a smirk "Well I guess we'll just have to raise our defense! Geodude use Defense Curl!" Geodude curled into a ball to tighten its muscles and raise its defense.

_"That's right, have him stop and stay in place"_ May thought to herself with a confident smile "Now Skitty use Sing!"

_"Skit...Skit Skit...Skit" _Skitty purred in a rhythmic fashion. Geodude slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"Oh no Geodude!" Roxanne cried, not expecting Skitty to put her rock type to sleep "please wake up!"

"This is our chance Skitty, use Assist!" May yelled

_"Hopefully it will be the move I need."_

Skitty opened her mouth and released a swarm of poisonous darts, which bounced harmlessly off Geodude's sleeping form.

_"Shit that's not the move I was looking for!"_

"Come on Geodude wake up!" Roxanne pleaded "she's up to something, I know it!" Geodude twitched slightly, but did not wake up.

"Use Assist again!" May instructed.

_"Please let this one be the right move!"_

Skitty opened her mouth and released a swarm of fire at Geodude, again dealing no real damage.

Geodude slowly started to stir. "Yes that's it Geodude!" Roxanne exclaimed with a relieved smile coming to her face "wake up!"

_"OH no! Please let this one be the right move!"_

"One more time Skitty, use Assist!" May said with a sense of urgency in her voice.

Skitty opened her mouth and released a flurry of sticky fibers at Geodude.

"YES!" May exclaimed as Skitty finally used the right move. Geodude finally woke up. "Quick Skitty run circles around him!" Skitty quickly followed May's instructions and started to run around Geodude, wrapping him in the sticky threads in the process. Soon Geodude was fully incased in the fibers.

"Aw shit!" Roxanne muttered "try and rip through it!" Geodude struggled to get himself out of the tight threads.

"Now SKitty back up..." May instructed. Skitty backed away from the struggling Geodude "...and RUN!"

Skitty dashed towards Geodude. Roxanne was wide eyed and confused. What was May trying to do? Skitty got closer and closer to Geodude.

"Now jump on top of him!" May yelled. Right before SKitty struck Geodude she leapt and laded on top of the rock type. The force of the action caused Geodude to start rolling.

"Keep running!" May instructed as Skitty kept running in place on top of Geodude, causing the rock type to move faster and faster, straight toward one of the walls of the gym!

Roxanne finally realized what May was doing

"No way..."

"Jump off Skitty!" May yelled. Skitty jumped off right before Geodude slammed into the wall.

BAM

Geodude hit the wall with the force of a high speed car crash, leaving a huge dent in the wall, and him knocked out on the floor.

"Yes!" May exclaimed, happy that her plan worked "good job Skitty!"

"Return" Roxanne said, recalling her defeated Geodude. "I did not expect that" she chuckled, impressed with May's plan "but let's see what you do against my main man here" Roxanne said pulling out her next pokeball "go Nosepass!"

Out of Roxanne's last pokeball came a short blue angular pokemon with short rocky legs and arms with no visible joints, fingers, or toes. Its most defining feature was a large red rocky nose on its face.

"Nosepass" is muttered (from a crevice unknown to May since she could not see a mouth or any opening on the pokemon).

"What is that?" May muttered trying her best not to giggle at the weird looking pokemon, knowing it would be rude. She pulled out her pokedex.

_"Nosepass the compass pokemon. Its body emits a powerful magnetism. It feeds on prey that is pulled in by the force. Its magnetism is stronger in cold seasons."_

"Alright Nosepass, use Harden" Roxanne instructed. Nosepass shinned brightly as its body got harder, raising its defense "defense is key" she said with her arms crossed.

"That won't do you any good when you can't move, use Assist!" May cried. "Skit" Skitty said as she opened her mouth and released a swarm of sticky threads.

_"Thank god it was Sting Shot again" _May thought to herself as she wiped sweat from her forehead.

The threads wrapped around Nosepass.

Roxanne was not fazed "slam onto the ground" she said simply. Nosepass much to May and Skitty's surprise, levitated in the air and slammed itself to the ground, making sharp rocks shoot out from all across the dirt battlefield. "Now spin!" Roxanne cried out. Nosepass using magnetism (May assumed) started to spin rapidly, with the String Shot thread still in Skitty's mouth. Skitty was flung along with Nosepass's motion, hitting and breaking all the rocks that came from the ground. The Sting Shot thread that connected Skitty's mouth to Nosepass finally broke, and she was sent flying to May's feet knocked out.

"Oh no Skitty!" May said kneeling down to pet her downed kitten softly. "You did great girl, get some rest" she said warmly as she recalled Skitty back into her pokeball.

"Pass!" Nosepass cried as he ripped off the String Shot.

"Jeez that thing is tough" May muttered as she pulled out her next pokeball and looked at the shiny sphere.

_"Looks like it's up to you little vato."_

"Go Torchic!" May cried as she threw her pokeball into the air. Out of the pokeball came May's little fire type chick pokemon.

"Torchic!" he chirped ruffling its feathers, ready to battle.

"You ready Torchic?" May asked. Torchic turned toward May and nodded.

_"Let's see, how am I going to take this Nosepass out..."_

"Torchic use Focus Energy" May instructed. Torchic closed his eyes and focused all his mental and physical energy into heightening its critical hit ratio.

"You think critical hits are going to down this stone wall?" Roxanne scoffed "use Harden."

Once again Nosepass raised his defense.

_"Now I see...Roxanne is all about defense. She wants to build that up so all Torchic's attacks don't affect her pokemon so she can hold out until Torchic's out of steam...well I guess we'll just have to take her pokemon's attack power out, and hit her where it hurts, her special defense!"_

"Use Growl Torchic" May said. Torchic nodded and let a low guttural growl escape from his throat, lowering Nosepass's attack.

"Use Harden" Roxanne said with a confident smirk. Nosepass's defense once again soared. By now, Torchic wasn't going to be able to even faze it with physical attacks.

"Use Growl again!' May instructed. Once again Torchic growled, lowering Nosepass's attack even more.

"Okay this has gone on long enough, use Rock Tomb!" Roxanne yelled. Before May could tell Torchic to dodge, Nosepass slammed itself onto the ground, making three rocks burst out from behind Torchic, and to his sides. Then Nosepass flung himself at the chick pokemon.

SLAM

Nosepass crushed the little fire type in between himself and the rocks, sending rock fragments flying across the arena.

"Are you okay?!" May cried, looking toward her injured friend. "Tor!" Torchic replied as he jumped back onto his feet.

"Wow" Roxanne said surprised "I can't believe that little pokemon survived that super-effective attack."

"I lowered your pokemon's attack while you were busy raising its defense" May said with a smirk.

"Smart" Roxanne said with an approving nod "but my pokemon will be able to take thousands of pecks and scratches from your little chick. How many Rock Tombs do you think you're Torchic can handle?"

"Not much" May replied "but you forgot one other attack that my Torchic has up his sleeves."

"And what is that?"

"Ember"

Hearing May say Ember, Torchic opened its mouth and released a mighty swarm of fire at Nosepass.

"Nose!" Nosepass cried in pain as the special attack struck him hard, compounded by it being critical hit.

"Oh my god!" Roxanne exclaimed "that Ember was powerful! H-How did it hurt Nosepass so much? He's resistant to fire!"

"Yeah, but Torchic's Ember has STAB and a Focus Energy backing him up. Not only that, Ember is a SPECIAL attack, something your Nosepass isn't prepared for!"

"Oh shit..." Roxanne muttered "well it just looks like we'll have to take Torchic out quick, use Rock Tomb!"

Once again May was taken off guard by Nosepass's attack. She got to the second D in dodge after Nosepass had slammed itself onto the ground, making the rocks come out of the ground and trap Torchic once again. Nosepass flung himself and crushed Torchic once again.

"Tor!" Torchic cried in pain as it skidded across the ground toward May. "Oh no!" May cried kneeling down to observe her Torchic for any severe damage "are you okay!?" "Tor..." Torchic muttered as it picked itself up. This time though, a fiery red aura surrounded him. "W-What's that?" May asked to no one in particular.

_"Torchic's ability is Blaze" _her pokedex answered _"It strengthens Torchic's fire type moves when one third of its health is depleted."_

_"Strengthens fire typ moves huh, that's good to know!"_

"Alright, it looks like Torchic is running on its finally reserves of energy, take him out with a good, clean, accurate Tackle." Nosepass used its power of magnetism to lunge itself at Torchic.

"Quick Torchic use Ember!" May cried. Torchic inhaled deeply, and exhaled, releasing a super hot swarm of fiery projectiles, just as Nosepass struck him.

BAM

Both pokemon skidded back to their respective trainers.

"Come on Nosepass, you can get up!" Roxanne cheered, trying to keep her pokemon from fainting.

"Nose..." it muttered.

"You can pull through little vato, I know you can" May said with clenched fists, the anticipation was overwhelming.

"Tor..." Torchic chirped weakly as it looked up to see May's determined face believing in him. He wasn't going to let her down, not again. Determined by her will, he used the last bit of strength he had to get back onto his feet.

"Torchic" he chirped as he wobbled slightly.

"That's the spirit little vato!" May praised with a smile on her face.

"Come on Nosepass" Roxanne pleaded.

"Nose..." Nosepass started to get up "...pass" but quickly fell back down knocked out.

"Oh…my…god….w-we won…" May said in disbelief "We Won!"

"Tor!" Torchic chirped happily. May ran over to Torchic, picked him up and hugged him. "You did it little vato! We all did it! Our first gym battle! I-I can't believe it, we actually did it!"

"You sure did!" Roxanne said as she recalled Nosepass, and walked over towards May. "You commanded your pokemon with excellence; you were in perfect sync with them. I was truly amazed. You've also taught me that even though I'm a gym leader, I still have plenty of room to improve."

"Thanks Roxanne, that means a lot coming from you" May said sincerely.

"If you ever have the chance, I would love to battle you again, after I've trained of course, but for the time being, here" Roxanne handed May a small case.

"What's this?" May asked.

"Something to hold THIS in!" Roxanne proclaimed holding a small badge in the palm of her hand.

"Take it, it's the Stone Badge. You've beat this gym, so you've earned it!"

May grabbed the badge "Wow so cool! Thanks Roxanne!"

"No problem May, I'll be rooting for you!"

"Thanks!" May said once more as she exited the gym.

* * *

The sunlight glistened off the polished Stone Badge. "The first step towards the Pokemon League!" May thought to herself smiling. She was about to start heading to the pokemon center, but she spotted a familiar face.

"Hey kid!" May called out.

The kid turned around "hey it's the loser! What have you been up to lately? Losing some more?!"

"Ha that's real funny" May said flipping the Stone Badge in the air, and catching it as if it were a coin.

"I-Is t-that…"

"The Stone Badge, yeah it is" May interrupted.

"B-But h-how…."

"Go tell the other little chavalas that the loser WON!" and with that May headed toward the pokemon center.

* * *

"I'll have your pokemon healed in no time!" Nurse Joy said putting May's pokeballs in a healing apparatus. May sat at a bench putting the Stone Badge in the case Roxanne gave to her, and placed the case in her fanny pack. "My first badge, dad would be so proud, but it's no reason to get cocky. I still need seven more…"

"May your pokemon are fully healed!" Nurse Joy called out.

May went over to the counter. "Thanks Nurse Joy, can I ask you something?"

"Of course dear" Nurse Joy said smiling.

"Do you know where the nearest city with a gym is located?" May asked.

"Well I'd say Mauville if the Rusturf Tunnel was completed…you could try Dewford Town which is south of Route 104, but you'll need a boat, or someone with a boat."

"Thank you Nurse Joy" May said as she started toward the door.

"Anytime dear, you and your pokemon stay safe!"

* * *

May walked out to Rustboro. "Well I guess it's time to find someone willing to ferry me to-"

"Get out of my way!" A man interrupted pushing May to the ground and heading in the direction of Route 116.

"Watch where you're going asshole!" May yelled shaking her fist.

"Oh dear, oh dear I'm in big trouble!" came a man in a familiar olive green suit wearing man "he took the goods, he took the goods!" he muttered to himself.

"Hey calm down, tell me what happened" May said picking herself off the ground.

"That damn Aqua hoodlum took my Devon goods! I don't know what I'm going to do…" He replied pacing back and forth.

"Look just kick back ese" May said, placing her hand on the man's shoulder to calm him down "I'll go get the goods back ok, just chill."

"You would!-Hey you're the girl from Petalburg Forest! Thank god you're here, if anyone can stop that thug it's you my hero!" the olive suit man said beaming.

"I'll go get them right now!" May said as she ran off toward Route 116. Trailing behind her, an ominous coated figure.

May ran down the path of Route 116, following the shoeprints of the thug. Close behind, Miklo followed her, whispering into his sleeve.

"This girl is going to try and stop the grunt."

_"Well take her out then" _the voice from the sleeve replied.

"Right here, what if somebody sees?"

_"It's your job to make sure nobody sees!" _

"Okay, signing off" Miklo replied, pulling a silenced 9mm from his pocket, he was about to point it at May, but the route bent, and she disappeared from view.

"Shit" Miklo muttered as he continued to follow May.

May kept running down Route 116, following the tracks

_"It looks like this guy is heading toward the Rusturf Tunnel, then he'll be trapped!"_

"No, my poor Peeko!" May heard someone yell at the end of the path. Sure enough at the end of the path, at the entrance of the Rusturf Tunnel a crowd had gathered, talking to each other with fervor in their voices. "What happened?" May asked. "Some thug dressed in blue took my dear Peeko!" said an old man in a dark robe "he went into the tunnel!"

"Don't worry I'll get him back for you!" May proclaimed as she entered the tunnel.

Miklo finally caught up, and saw a crowd gathered at the tunnel.

"Looks like that idiot grunt went into that dead end tunnel" Miklo whispered into his sleeve.

_"Well go in after him, we need to do anything we can to have that grunt accomplish his mission"_ Emmerson's voice from the radio in Miklo's sleeve.

"The mission was to do everything we can to help the grunt accomplish his mission without alerting him or civilians to our presence. There's a huge crowd near the tunnel, the mission is compromised."

_"Well if you say so, but Miklo you're the one who's gonna face Jonathan and explain why the missions been compromised, and you know he's gonna be pissed."_

"I know, I know!" Miklo said angrily.

_"Head back to base"_ Emmerson said.

"Roger that, signing off" Miklo said as he turned off the radio. "Shit, Jonathan is not going to be happy" Miklo said fearfully as he left Route 116.

* * *

**Back to May**

The tunnel was dark and damp; May could barely see what was in front of her.

"Damnit this tunnel is a dead end!" came an echo from deeper in the tunnel. May ran toward the voice. It didn't take long until she found the Team Aqua grunt holding a Wingull.

"Oh no, not you again!" the Aqua grunt yelled as he saw May approach.

"You don't learn do you?" May said "you failed in Petalburg Forest, and you failed here. Why don't you just give up on this whole crime thing? If you're not up for it, you're not up for it."

"Why you little brat, go Poochyena!" the grunt yelled releasing the dark type from its pokeball. "Pooch!" it roared. When May saw the Poochyena, she trembled slightly. _"Oh god, why did it have to be a dog pokemon..."_

May rubbed her pendant lightly and grabbed Torchic's pokeball with a slightly shaking hand. "Go Torchic!" May shouted releasing her fire type. "Tor!" it chirped.

"Poochyena use Tackle!" The Aqua Grunt yelled angrily. Poochyena charged at Torchic with drool sliding down the side of his cheek.

"Torchic dodge and use Peck!" May said with a slightly shaking voice. "Tor!" Torchic cried as it moved out of Poochyena's way and slammed its beak onto Poochyena.

"Poochyena use Tackle again!" The injured Poochyena ran toward Torchic once more.

"Use Ember!" May shouted. Torchic opened its beak letting loose a swarm of fire at Poochyena.

"Pooch!" it cried skidding on the ground, knocked out.

"Aw no, not again!" the grunt cried in defeat as he recalled his dark type.

"Déjà vu huh" May mocked, happy that she didn't have to look at the canine-like pokemon anymore.

"Why must I always run into you, why must you always sabotage my tasks?" the grunt grumbled.

"Hey you think I want to run into you!" May said "if I could choose to never see your ugly face I would, but apparently the universe had other plans.."

"Whatever, I'm out of here. Take the stupid goods, and this squawking headache!" the grunt said dropping the goods and Peeko the Wingull.

"I can't let you go, not until someone comes and takes you away" May said blocking the grunt's path.

"Is that so….POCKET SAND!" the grunt yelled at the top of his lungs, grabbing sand from his pocket and throwing it at May's face.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" May cried falling to her knees, desperately wiping the sand from her eyes.

"Later chump!" the grunt yelled as he ran out of the tunnel.

"Son of a bitch!" May cursed as she finally got the sand from her red watery eyes.

"Tor, Tor" Torchic chirped fearing for May's well being.

"I'm fine Torchic, it just hurt like hell" May said as she got up on her feet "return Torchic" she said recalling her fire type.

"Wingull" Peeko squawked.

"You must be Peeko" May said turning toward the squawking seagull pokemon perched on the floor.

"Gull" it squawked.

"Well come on, your owner's worried sick about you."

"Gull" it squawked once more flying up and perching on May's shoulder. May grabbed the Devon goods and headed out of the tunnel. When she came back out, she was greeted by the warm sun and crowd of worried workers.

"Young lady are you okay?"

"Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine" May replied "did you see where he went?"

"Yeah" replied one of the workers "he sneaked into the overgrowth before we could stop him..."

"Oh" May muttered, disappointed that the Aqua Grunt got away.

"Oh Peeko you're safe!" an old man said, joining the conversation as he grabbed Peeko from May's shoulder and hugged it.

"He's fine, that thug didn't hurt him" May told the old man.

"Oh thank you, thank you!" the old man cried shaking May's hand "I'm in debt to you, if you ever need me for a favor, you just come to my cottage on Route 104."

"Uh, sure thanks" said May.

"Thanks again young lady" and with that the old man walked away.

"Wow young lady, you're a real hero!" one of the workers praised, patting May on the back.

"Yeah" the others agreed, showering her with complaiments.

"Thanks, but I got to go now. I need to give this back to some Devon employee.

"Okay we won't keep you" said one of the workers.

"Yeah, besides we have to get back to 'work'" he said with work being emphasized "all we do here now is wait until we get the word to continue the Rusturf Tunnel project, or get the conformation to go home" he sighed "it sure does get boring around here..."

* * *

May to went down the path back to Rustboro.

"Oh you got them back!" the olive suit man exclaimed as soon as he saw May come out of Route 116 carrying the Devon goods.

"Here you go" May said handing the man the goods.

"You're a hero!" the man proclaimed.

"No I was just in the right place at the right time again" May said modestly.

"Oh don't be modest" the olive suit man said "come with me, the president of the Devon Corporation would love to meet you" he said grabbing May's wrist; pulling her toward the entrance to a tall building with the word 'Devon' above the entrance.

"Look I'd love to, but I really have to go…" May protested.

"Aw c'mon, it won't take long!" the man said smiling still dragging May toward the entrance.

"Oh alright" May said giving up as she entered the building. The first floor was huge and art nouveau inspired. It even had a large fountain in the middle.

_"Uwwww, this building's pretty" _May thought to herself, admiring the architecture and art nouveau artwork blended into one to create a truly unique complex. She didn't have time to fully appreciate the room since the surprisingly strong Devon employee pulled May past the fountain and into an elevator .May soon found herself heading toward the top floor of the building: the CEO's office.

The elevator stopped, May and the olive suit man stepped out into a large art nouveau decorated room.

"Hello young lady" said a gruff, but kind voice. May turned toward the voice revealing a jolly old man with spiky white hair in a blue suit, and a white hat.

"Hello sir" May greeted politely.

"Polite, I like that" the old man said smiling. "My name is Mr. Stone, the president of the Devon Corporation, an independent company that provides jobs for all the residents of Rustboro. I'd just got word about you! You saved our staff not just once, but twice! I have a favor to ask of an amazing person like you. I would like you to deliver a package to Slateport's Shipyard, and deliver this letter to my son Steven in Dewford Town" Mr. Stone said handing May the letter.

"Sure, I was heading to Dewford" May informed him.

"That's perfect, but generous as I am, I don't ask you to do this without getting anything in return…" Mr. Stone said pulling out a pokenav from his desk and handing it to May. "This is a pokemon navigator, or pokenav for short. It has a map of the Hoenn Region. You can check the locations of Dewford and Slateport easily. Oh I almost forgot to tell you! You can also register other people with pokenavs so you can call them. Our companies number is preset in yours so you can call me to let me know when you've completed the tasks I've asked of you."

"Thank you Mr. Stone, I'll head there right away" May said placing the pokenav on her belt, and the package and letter in her fanny pack. She then started to leave.

"Goodbye stay safe May!"

* * *

May exited the building and started toward Route 104. As she walked, she fiddled with her new pokenav like a Mankey with a wheel or any sort of primitive technology..

"How the hell do you work this thing?"

BAM

"Oh I'm so sorry!" May apologized, for she had bumped into a boy when she was busy fiddling with the pokenav.

"It's no problem" the boy said turning around. May's face immediately lit up when she looked up to see who was standing before her.

"Brendan!" she exclaimed as soon as she saw him.

"Oh hey-" Brendan started, but was interrupted by May giving him a tight hug "May"

"It's been a while huh" May said still squeezing him.

"Yeah, and I'm happy to see you too, but you're gonna break my back if you hug any tighter!" Brendan managed to say.

"Oh sorry" May giggled, releasing him from her own take on Vicegrip.

"So May, what have you been up to?" he asked.

"Oh you know, training, turning heads, and beating gyms" May replied nonchalantly.

"Beating gyms! Congrats May, which gym did you beat?" Brendan asked.

"The Rustboro gym silly, what do you think I'm doing here" May replied smiling.

"Cool, can I see the badge?!" Brendan asked excited.

"Sure" May said pulling out the badge case and showing Brendan the Stone Badge.

"Nice, so May I have-"

"I also got a pokenav from Mr. Stone!" May proclaimed showing Brendan the pokenav.

"O-oh, you got one already" Brendan stammered.

"So Brendan what were you going to say?" May asked smiling innocently.

"Oh, uh well…I was going to say I had something for you…" Brendan said.

"Really! What is it!?" May asked curiously.

"Ummm…" Brendan muttered peering into his backpack. He pushed aside a brand new pokenav still in its packaging (he intended to give it to May) and pulled out a Super Potion.

"H-here, a Super Potion, y-you know just in case your pokemon get really hurt" he chuckled nervously handing her the Super Potion.

"Uhhh thanks" May said confused, placing the Super Potion in her fanny pack.

"So May, why don't we register each other in our pokenav's, you know so we can keep in touch when we are separated" Brendan nervously asked.

"A-are you asking for my number?" May asked blushing slightly.

"Oh uh, not like...you know...ummm..."

"Because I'll give it to you, I just don't know how to work this pokenav" May said, saving Brendan from explaining himself.

"I-I'll show you, just press this button here…then I'll take out mine…"

_Click, Click_

"There we're registered!" Brendan proclaimed.

Both trainers put away their pokenavs.

"So May, since you've become a more experienced trainer, how bout we have a quick battle?" Brendan asked.

"Okay, you're on!" May replied as she pulled out one of her pokeballs "This time though, I won't be taken out easily, Go Skitty!" Out of May's pokeball came her normal type pink kitten. "Skitty!" the little kitten meowed.

Brendan pulled out his pokedex and documented Skitty.

"So you've made a new friend huh, well so have I, Go Zigzagoon!" Brendan said as he threw one of his pokeballs into the air. Out of the sphere came his normal typ tiny raccoon pokemon. "Zagoon!" it cried ready to battle.

"Let's see how much you've improved" Brendan said, flashing her a confident smile.

"Gladly, Skitty use Growl!" May yelled. Skitty let out a sharp growl that lowered Zigzagoon's attack.

"Trying to lower my attack are you, quick use Tail Whip!" Brendan instructed. Zigzagoon flailed his tail cutely, putting Skitty at ease. "Now Zigzagoon use Tackle!" he instructed. "Zagoon!" Zigzagoon cried as his charged toward Skitty and struck her with his broad side.

"Skit!" Skitty cried in pain, as she skidded across the cobblestone streets, but quickly regained composure.

"Do it again Zigzagoon" Brendan instructed "Tackle!"

"..."

"Z-Zigzagoon?" Brendan mumbled as he looked over toward his pokemon. Zigzagoon had hearts in his eyes as he stared at May's Skitty. "What's going on with Zigzagoon?" Brendan asked his pokedex.

_"Skitty's ability is Cute Charm"_ his pokedex replied from his pocket _"it causes pokemon of the opposite gender to become infatuated upon contact."_

"Oh crap."

"Use Assist!" May cried. Skitty focused her energy into heightening its critical hit ratio. She had used Torchic's Focus Energy. "Now use Double Slap!" May yelled. Skitty charged Zigzagoon with her tail tensed and tightened.

SLAP

Skitty struck with a swift lash of her tail to Zigzagoon's face.

SLAP

Another lash was sent to Zagazgoon's face. Both were critical hits! Zigzagoon was sent skidding back to Brendan.

"Oh no Zigzagoon!" Brendan cried looking at his defeated normal type as he pulled out his pokeball and returned him "you did great, get some rest." Brendan chuckled "well I must say, you've definitely improved, but I have to! Go Seedot!" Out of Brendan's pokeball came as small acorn like pokemon with two feet. May pulled out her pokedex.

_"Seedot the acorn pokemon. It hangs off branches and absorbs nutrients. When it finishes eating, it drops to the ground with a thump."_

"Okay let's do this, use Double Slap!" May yelled. Skitty rushed Seedot.

"Use Bide!" Brendan yelled. Seedot closed his eyes and tightened his focus, getting ready to absorb the pain Skitty was about to dish out.

SLAP

Skitty struck him with her tail.

SLAP

Once again, Skitty slapped Seedot, this one being a critical hit.

"Alright Seedot, now use Bide!" Brendan yelled. Seedot opened his eyes and released all the absorbed energy of Skitty's attack right back at Skitty.

"Skit!" Skitty cried in pain as it was sent straight to May's feet.

"Holy crap, I didn't expect that" May said, looking toward her friend "that was a real smart plan."

"Thanks" Brendan replied, still in complete focus.

May recalled Skitty and pulled out her final pokeball "come on out Torchic!" Out of May's pokeball came Torchic, her fire type starter. "Tor!" it chirped, ready for battle.

"I remember you" Brendan said smiling "tough little chick aren't you!"

"Chic!" Torchic chirped as he nodded in agreement. "And he's gotten even tougher" May replied matter of factly "we won't be taken out easily."

"We'll see about that, use Bide!" Brendan yelled. Once again Seedot closed his eyes and got ready to absorb the energy of Torchic's attacks to use against him.

"Torchic use Focus Energy" May said coolly. Torchic tightened its focus to raise its critical hit ratio.

"I won't be able to move in a turn or two, why don't you attack?" Brendan said, trying to coax May into attacking Seedot to add to Bide's power.

"You don't have to ask, I was planning on it" She said with extreme focus in her eyes. Brendan was a little disturbed by the glint in her eyes, it looked as if she wasn't there, and she was replaced by a much more serious and deliberate being.

"Use Ember Torchic!"

Torchic inhaled deeply, and exhaled a searing hot swarm of fire.

'Seedot!" Seedot cried as the fire struck him with too much force. The combination of STAB, super-effectiveness, and it Seedot already being damaged knocked the acorn pokemon out.

"Oh wow..." Brendan muttered, surprised at how powerful Torchic was "jeez didn't realize you were this tough" Brendan half chuckled half whimpered as he pulled out his next pokeball "g-go Mudkip!" Out of his last pokeball came the cute four-legged water type. "Mud" he muttered ready to battle. He sensed that he was facing a powerful opponent, which made the little axolotl even more alert and fluid. "Tor" Torchic muttered as he stared into the eyes of a worthy combatant, the Mudkip that whooped his ass days ago.

"Alright let's start this off with Growl!" May yelled with determination in her voice. Torchic did as it was told and let out a low growl from its throat which lowered Mudkip's attack.

"Use Water Gun!" Brendan yelled. Mudkip planted its four legs onto the ground and opened its mouth, releasing a powerful jet of water.

"Dodge Torchic!"

"Tor!" Torchic chirped as it leapt out of the Water Gun's way.

"Don't let up, keep on going!" Brendan cried. Mudkip continued to shoot the stream at Torchic.

"Keep dodging until you close the gap between you and Mudkip!" May instructed. Torchic nimbly dodged the powerful water jets as he steadily made his way closer to Mudkip. "You're close enough, use Scratch!" May cried. Trochic jumped right next to Mudkip and began to lacerate the water type with outstretched talons.

"Mud!" Mudkip cried as the gashes started to form on his body.

"Quick use Tackle!" Brendan instructed. Mudkip leapt into Torchic with his broad side, sending the fire type reeling back. "Now use Water Gun while he's off balance!" Mudkip opened his mouth and released a powerful stream of water that shot straight toward Torchic.

"Tor!" Torchic cried as the water struck him and sent him back farther.

"Ahh Torchic!" May gasped. "Tor!" Torchic muttered as he got back onto his feet, with the fiery aura surrounding him.

_"Oh yeah, looks like Torchic ready to deal some major chingadazos!"_

"Mudkip use Water Gun one more time!" Brendan yelled. Mudkip opened his mouth and let loose with another powerful water attack.

"Dodge it and get close to him!" May instructed. Torchic moving swifter from his Blaze ability easily evaded the oncoming Water Gun, and quickly started to close the gap between him and Mudkip.

"Quick he's close, use Tackle!" Brendan yelled. Mudkip charged at Torchic.

"Now Torchic, use Ember!"

Torchic while still running, inhaled deeply and exhaled a powerful swarm of fire right onto Mudkip's face as the water type struck him. "Kip!" Mudkip cried in pain as he skidded across the ground with Torchic on top of him. They soon started to slow, and a cloud of obscuring dust shrouded the fate of the two pokemon.

Both May and Brendan gasped.

The dust slowly cleared, and revealed Torchic standing over his opponent in triumph.

"Tor!" it chirped in a victorious fashion

"We did it!" May exclaimed "good job Torchic! Return and get some rest!" Torchic was converted into a red swirl of energy and sent back into its pokeball to get some rest.

"Return Mudkip you did amazing" Brendan said, recalling his defeated axolotl. "Wow May, you have really improved, its no mystery how you defeated the gym leader here!" Brendan praised.

"Aw thanks Brendan" May said blushing.

"Well I think we should head over to the pokemon center and heal our pokemon" Brendan suggested.

"You're right, let's go" May agreed as the two went to the pokemon center.

* * *

"I'll heal them right quick!" Nurse Joy exclaimed as she placed May and Brendan's pokemon in a healing apparatus.

May and Brendan found a place to sit and began to talk.

"So May, where are you heading to now?" he asked.

"Well I'm going to head to Dewford Town next to challenge the gym there, and to deliver a letter to Mr. Stone's son Steven" May replied "but I need to find someone with a boat first."

"Oh I know someone that could help you!" Brendan exclaimed.

"Really! Who!?" May asked.

"There's an old sailor named Mr. Briney who lives in a cottage near Route 104 with his pet Wingull named Peeko. He can probably help you" Brendan informed May.

"Mr. Briney…I think I know Mr. Briney!" May replied.

"Really"

"Yeah, I saved an old man's Wingull named Peeko from some thug back on Route 116. He said if I needed anything, to come to his cabin on Route 104."

"That's him!" Brendan exclaimed "lucky break"

"Yeah" May replied. "So Brendan, can I ask you something?"

"Sure"

"I was wondering, would you like to come to Dewford Town with me, I would love to have a friend keep me company" May said blushing slightly.

"Hmmm…" Brendan mumbled thinking about the proposition.

"I'm sure there are all kinds of cool pokemon you can document over there" May added.

"Alright I'll go!" Brendan proclaimed.

"That's great!" May replied.

"May, Brendan your pokemon are fully healed!" Nurse Joy called out.

The two trainers got up and collected there pokemon.

"Thank you" they both said as they exited the complex.

"Well let's get going!" May chimed.

"Lead the way May" said a smiling Brendan.

The duo exited Rustboro and headed down Route 104, the setting sun giving off an orange glow that bathed the path, as well as May and Brenadan.

**Thanks for reading! Oh and did you readers notice the King of the Hill reference I put in this chapter. In Solider of Misfortune (Season 6 episode 2) Dale attempts to grab a briefcase from a man. In the struggle, Dale at the top of his lungs yells "POCKET SAND!" grabbing sand from his pocket and throwing it at the man's face. I'll try and put in more pop culture references in future chapter.**


	11. Getting Ready to Set Sail

**This chapter contains a scene that some may consider violent in nature. It is at the very beginning of the chapter so if you want to skip it, the scene will end at the line that reads in bolded letters 'Back to May and Brendan'. With that out of the way, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

**Getting Ready to Set Sail**

"You WHAT!?" Jonathan yelled as he stood up from his desk, his eyes filled with rage. On the opposite side of the desk sat Admin Miklo, with two other figures standing at his sides.

"I'm sorry sir, but I had no choice. There was a crowd, I couldn't do anything. If I did I would've alerted the citizens to our presence" Miklo explained.

"You're sorry!? That's all you can say?! You've single-handedly brought our cause a few steps back!" Jonathan yelled with the voice of a monster, a monster who did not value human life at all, a monster who had nothing human left inside of him except the feeling of anger and rage, immense rage.

"I-I don't know what else to say jefe, I-I'm sorry..."

"Oh you're fucking sorry! Again with the fucking apologies! I would kill you, but I you're still of use to me. What I will do is punish you!" Jonathan yelled, turning to the figures on his sides "Esteban, Emmerson...grab him."

The two figures after hearing this immediately grasped Miklo and brought him upright.

Miklo knew exactly what was going to happen.

"Please not this jefe, I-I won't screw up again, I promise!"

"Oh promises mean nothing" Jonathan muttered as he knelt down behind his desk to pull something out of one of his big drawers. "I for one have no idea why you failed, since our cause is righteous, but I'm not one to question his will. All I know is he has everything happen for a reason. Your failure was his will, and what I'm about to do is too!" Jonathan said as he got back upright, this time holding a large yellow chainsaw .

Miklo's eyes grew wide with terror. He had seen Jonathan use that chainsaw on many poor unfortunate people many times before, and now he was going to use it on him. he always hated that diabolical contraption. The yellow was chosen to magnify the red blood of the poor soul under its blade. The blade itself was smudged and scratched from years of Jonathan wiping the blade vigorously to get the blood stains off.

Jonathan started up the motor

_**"VRRRRRR..."**_

It didn't turn on fully, it never did the first time. Jonathan's chainsaw was a tease, torturing its victim with a false hope that it wouldn't turn on, but Miklo knew better.

_**"VRRRRRRRR..."**_

Again the chainsaw sputtered, making everybody but Jonathan jump. It wouldn't be long now...

_**"VRRRRRRR-VRRRRRRRRRRR!"**_

The chainsaw was up and running, its metallic roar flooded the room. Jonathan moved closer to Miklo.

"Hold out his arm" Jonathan said loudly to Emmerson so the roar of the angry chainsaw would not drown him out.

Emmerson nodded and stretched Miklo's arm out, while Esteban kept him from moving. Miklo wanted to plead for him to stop, but he knew it was no use. He accepted his fate, only god would get him through this now.

Jonathan placed the chainsaw right above the area just above Miklo's wrist. "Don't worry, god will protect you in his warm embrace" Jonathan said, as he dropped the chainsaw down onto Miklo's arm.

Miklo's cries of pain were drowned out by the sound of cold steel tearing through flesh and bone...

* * *

**Back to May and Brendan**

"B-Brendan why don't we head back to Rustboro? We'll sleep there for the night, then we'll head to Mr. Briney's cottage" May pleaded, grasping Brendan's wrist lightly.

May and Brendan had gone down Route 104 to head to Mr. Briney's cottage. Now they stood at the edge of Petalburg Forest, bearing down on them with dark slopping trees and unwelcoming darkness. With the sun setting, May was reluctant to enter the dark dense overgrowth of the gothic forest.

"May don't be such a baby, it's just a forest. It will be the same tomorrow as it is right now" Brendan said.

"But Brendan, I really don't want to go in that creepy dark forest. It was scary during the day; it'll be creepier at night!" May replied pulling Brendan's arm "please let's just head back."

"May I don't get it, you'll chase down and punch dangerous thugs, but you won't go into a forest lacking a little light?" Brendan said sternly.

"Brendan I'm not scared of people, especially a chavalla like that Team Aqua thug, but I am scared of…" May started.

"What? Pokemon? I thought you were over that" Brendan replied.

"No not that…" May said softly "…ghosts."

"Ghosts!? You can't be serious!" Brendan chuckled.

"W-What!" May exclaimed "what do you mean by that!?" May said angrily, her hands at her hips.

"I-I didn't mean anything by it!" Brendan replied apologetically. "Look, I promise we'll be fine."

May looked at Brendan, with a worried face. She was still reluctant to go.

"I'll protect you from any ghost, I promise" Brendan said grasping May's hand lightly.

May blushed as Brendan took her hand.

Brendan realizing what he was doing, quickly let go of her hand. "We'll be in and out, it won't take long, just trust me" Brendan said with a soft voice as he looked into May's sapphire eyes._ "God she has beautiful eyes"_ he thought to himself.

May sighed "ok, let's go."

"That's the spirit!" Brendan proclaimed as the two entered the forest.

Brendan turned on his pokenav so he could use the light from the screen as a flashlight. Even then it only illuminated a small area, enough so they could see where they were going. Everything else was pitch black.

"Aw jeez this forest is so creepy!" May thought to herself as she walked down the jagged path with Brendan, unable to see her own legs fully._ "Think of happy thoughts, Think of happy thoughts!"_ May told herself, but no matter how hard she tried she could not. Instead her thoughts went to her childhood, when her mother told her stories of el cucuy (The Mexican Boogieman) when she was naughty. She remembered those sleepless, fearful nights on the couch; fearing el cucuy would grab her from behind and drag her off into the night.

"Uhhh May, what are you doing?" Brendan asked.

"What?" May asked as she broke away from her thoughts.

"Little close aren't you."

May realized she was clinging onto Brendan's left arm.

"Well I'm pretty scared, so just deal with it. Besides I know you're loving this!"

"Okay scaredy cat" Brendan chuckled as the two continued through the forest.

_"Jeez I never noticed he had such strong arms"_ May thought to herself as she lightly rubbed his jagged forearms _"I guess it just doesn't go with his personality..."_ May's thoughts drifted off back to the scary forest, and the tense uneasy silence. _"I swear to god, this silence is just too creepy! All I can hear is the sound of our footsteps on the soggy ground...fuck this, I need to say something before I go mad with fear"_

"You know what this reminds me of" May whispered to Brendan, still clinging to his arm.

"What?" he asked.

"Some videogame I played back in Johto. I forgot the name of it, but I remember you were placed in a dark forest just like this one. All you had was a flashlight and you had to collect notes hidden throughout the forest." **(A/N: Can you guess what I'm referencing here?)**

"Pretty creepy" Brendan replied with a hint of fear in his voice.

"Yeah, but that's not all. A tall faceless man would stalk you throughout the entire game. You could tell when he was near because the screen would get all grainy and the flashlight would began to flicker."

Just as May said this, the pokenav started to flicker, the light becoming fainter.

Brendan turned toward May fearfully. May gasped and looked toward Brendan with fearful eyes.

"I-I f- forgot to c-charge my p-pokenav earlier" Brendan stammered.

"Y-yeah, I-I'm s-sure that's all i-it is" May chuckled nervously.

The light flickered a few more times and finally went out. Brendan and May's hearts began to beat faster.

"M-May lend me your pokenav!" Brendan said fearfully.

May fumbled with her belt. She could not see the pokenav in the pitch black forest. She desperately ran her hands across her belt hoping to feel the pokenav.

_Rustle, Rustle_

May and Brendan both turned toward the rustling. Something was there with them, somewhere in the patch of tall grass, something they both could not see. They were at its mercy if it struck.

"Quick May quick!" Brendan exclaimed fearfully.

"I'm looking, I'm looking!" May responded feverishly.

_Rustle, Rustle_

In the fervor of the moment and the total darkness, May's mind began to imagine the worst. She imagined a giant faceless man dragging her and Brendan into the pitch black forest never to be heard from again. The more she imagined, the more frantic she became.

_Rustle, Rustle_

"Hurry, Hurry!"

May finally found the pokenav and hastily handed it to Brendan.

"Turn it on, turn it on!" she exclaimed.

_Rustle, Rustle_

"C'mon, C'mon!" Brendan exclaimed rapidly pressing the ON button.

"It's gonna kill us!" May shrieked, burying her face into Brendan's shoulder. Just then, Brendan finally got the pokenav to turn on, and the light flooded the patch of grass rustling.

_Rustle, Rustle_

Brendan trembled, and May kept her face buried in Brendan's shoulder, her eyes closed.

"Shroomish" yelped a small brown mushroom-like pokemon as it came out of the rustling patch of grass.

Brendan sighed in relief. "It's okay May, it was just a Shroomish."

May pulled away from Brendan, and turned around only to see a small Shroomish. "Oh my, I'm so embarrassed" May said, her face in her hand. "Let's just get out of this damn forest."

"That sounds like a great idea" Brendan replied still spooked. The two continued through the forest in silence.

* * *

"Finally!" May exclaimed as they reached the end of the forest. They were back on Route 104 (the half closest to Petalburg City).

"See I told you it wouldn't be that bad" Brendan said.

"Oh whatever Brendan, you were scared too!"

"Was not" he replied.

"Was so" she shot back.

"I recall you burying your face into my shoulder" Brendan countered.

"Oh yeah, I recall you on the verge of tears begging me to hurry and get out my pokenav" she shot back smirking.

"I was not on the verge of tears" he protested.

"Whatever…BRENDAN BEHIND YOU!"

"WHAT, WHAT!" he shrieked quickly turning around.

May started to chuckle "I can't believe you fell for that."

Brendan smiled "alright, I'll admit you got me there, but I was not on the verge of tears."

"If you say so" she replied nonchalantly walking down the path toward Mr. Briney's seaside cottage, Brendan following close behind. It didn't take long for them to reach the cottage. May couldn't help but notice the large boat anchored at a dock near the cottage. She knocked on the cottage door three times.

"Coming" she faintly heard someone say from within the cottage. The door opened revealing an old man with a long white beard, in a blue robe. "Oh it's you!" he happily exclaimed when he spotted May.

"Hello Mr. Briney" May said smiling.

"And who is this?" Mr. Briney asked turning toward Brendan.

"Oh, this is my friend Brendan"

"Hello" Brendan greeted nervously.

"Hello to you too Brendan!" Mr. Briney replied smiling. "Where are my manners, come in, come in!" he said ushering the two into his cottage.

"Gull!" Peeko cried happily as soon as it saw May.

"Hey Peeko!" May exclaimed greeting Peeko.

Mr. Briney sat down on his couch. May and Brendan looked around nervously, debating whether if it would be rude to sit down without permission.

Mr. Briney sensed this. "Please sit down, my house is your house."

May and Brendan sat down.

"So young lady, I never got your name, what is it?" Mr. Briney asked.

"May" she answered.

"Well May, I think I know why you are here. You've come for the favor right?"

"Right" May answered, "I was wondering if you could sail Brendan and I to Dewford Town, and then to Slateport City."

"Of course, after all you did save my darling Peeko" Mr. Briney said "but I think we should set sail tomorrow, because it is to late right now."

"Oh okay, we'll just head over to the Petalburg pokemon center and…."

"No, you don't have to do that" Mr. Briney interrupted "I have enough room for you two, you could stay here for the night, I would enjoy the company."

"Sure, thanks" May thanked.

"Yeah thanks Mr. Briney" Brendan thanked as well.

"Well now since that's settled, why don't we have some dinner?"

"Oh god that would be great!" Brendan exclaimed, "yeah I haven't had anything to eat all day" May added holding her grumbling tummy.

"Well follow me!" Mr. Briney said smiling as he got up and walked toward a dinner table.

May and Brendan followed Mr. Briney and took a seat at the table.

"Wingull" Peeko squawked as he flew toward the table, and landed on it, opposite of where May and Brendan sat.

Mr. Briney opened up a cupboard and grabbed four bowls. He placed one in front of May, Brendan, Peeko, and an empty seat that he would sit at. He then grabbed a pot full of Minestrone soup, and started to pour it into the four bowls. Once he was done, he sat next to Peeko, and the four began to eat and make conversation with each other.

* * *

**28 minutes later…**

"Wow that was tasty" May proclaimed rubbing her full tummy.

"You can say that again" Brendan agreed picking at his teeth with a toothpick.

"I'm glad you kids enjoyed it!" Mr. Briney said smiling. "Well Peeko and I are going to get some shut eye, why don't you kids get ready for bed, you know brush your teeth, shower, whatever you kids need to get done. I have some extra towels in the bathroom drawer." Mr. Briney started toward his room, but stopped. "Oh and I only have one guest room, so one of you is going to have to sleep on the couch, unless you two don't mind sharing a bed with each other."

May and Brendan both flustered fiercely.

"N-no that's fine, I-I'll take the couch" Brendan stammered.

"Oh okay, goodnight" and with that Mr. Briney went into his room.

"So….do you want to shower first?" Brendan asked.

"No, you can go first. I'm going to try and figure out how to work this pokenav's map feature" she replied.

"Oh okay" Brendan said as he went into the bathroom.

For about 27 minutes May sat legs crossed, fiddling with her pokenav as Brendan showered. Then the door opened revealing a freshly showered Brendan, his moist black hair stuck to his forehead and to the sides of his ears. He wore only a plain white t-shirt, black sweat pants, and a pair of socks for pajamas. May gazed at him, thinking to herself how cute he looked with his simple pajamas and dark wet hair. She also noticed how muscular Brendan was. She noticed his forearms back in the forest, but now that he was in the light and only in his pajamas, she could see he had quite the body. He wasn't extremely cut or anything like that, but he did have considerably big and toned muscles. She continued for a couple more seconds until she realized what she was doing. She blushed and gazed down at her pokenav, embarrassed that she was checking her friend out.

"Alright May, the shower is all yours" he said, having not noticed May violating him with her eyes.

"O-okay" May said getting up and walking toward the bathroom, hiding her blushing face the whole time.

**30 minutes later…**

Brendan was sprawled out on Mr. Briney's couch, with a blanket over his lower waist. He was busy with his pokedex, reviewing all the pokemon he had documented. Then the bathroom door opened.

Brendan stared wide eyed at May, who stood at the doorway wringing her hair out with her towel. She wore a clingy blue nightgown that accented her hourglass figure. He of course had noted she had a very attractive body when he first laid eyes on her, but in that nightgown, she just looked so...hot. It didn't help that the gown was low cut showing off her slender legs, not only that, but this damn silk gown showed off those curvy almost hypnotic hips of hers. He was so lost in awe at his friends body that he almost didn't notice when she was done wringing her hair out, it fell gently unto her smooth shoulders. Brendan continued to stare with his mouth slightly opened.

"Well Brendan I'm going to bed, goodnight." May told him.

May's voice broke Brendan from his trance.

"O-okay, goodnight May" he said in almost a whimper as he felt blood rush to a certain external organ.

May smiled and went into the guestroom.

When she left, Brendan framed the word "wow" with his mouth as he put his pokedex away. He then turned off the light, and tried to get some sleep. Too bad for him though, because poor Brendan would be plagued by suggestive dreams involving him and his friend May throughout the night.

* * *

**Morning…**

May's eyes slowly flustered open. She sat up yawning and stretching. She slowly got off the bed and walked out of the guest room. She caught sight of Brendan still soundly asleep on the couch. She smiled "he looks so cute and innocent when he's sleeping" she thought to herself as she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get dressed.

Seven minutes later, she exited the guest room once more, this time fully dressed, pokeballs on her belt, fanny pack on her waist, and pendant around her neck. She quickly fixed her green bandanna onto her head as she walked over to the door leading to Mr. Briney's room.

She knocked on the door "hello Mr. Briney are you in there?" No answer.

"He must be outside" she thought to herself as she exited the house. Sure enough May saw Mr. Briney on his boat anchored at the dock; Peeko flying overhead.

May walked over toward the boat, the wooden dock creaking beneath her feet.

"Morning Mr. Briney" May said

"Oh good morning May, I didn't think you'd be up this early, is Brendan up?" Mr. Briney asked.

"No he's still sleeping" May informed him.

"Oh in that case, can I ask you to do me a favor?" Mr. Briney asked.

"Sure"

"Can you go to Petalburg and buy some food for the voyage."

"No problem, I'll head over right now" and with that, May headed toward Petalburg.

* * *

It didn't take long for May to reach Petalburg. By now the sun was in the sky, and was shining down onto the city, bathing it in all its glory.

"Look's like I'm back in Petalburg, the most innocent city I have ever encountered so far" May thought to herself as she pulled out her pokenav to find her way to the closest pokemart. After a few minutes of walking, she finally found one. When she went inside, she picked up some nutrition bars, and pokefood. As she walked up to the counter she saw a familiar dark haired man.

"Dad!?" May exclaimed.

The man turned around "May!" he cried out.

May still holding the bags full of supplies ran over to him and hugged him. "It's so nice to see you again, I've missed you!"

"Your mother and I have missed you to, even though it's only been six days since you first started your journey!"

"I know, but it seems like months!" May replied still hugging him. "Oh and I have something to show you!" she proclaimed excited.

"What is it hon?"

May reached into her fanny pack and pulled out her Gym Badge Case. She opened it and showed her father her Stone Badge "ta-da, my first badge!"

"Atta girl! I knew you could do it!" Norman proclaimed proudly.

"I also got a pokenav from Mr. Stone" she told him pulling out her pokenav.

"You got to meet Mr. Stone!" Norman exclaimed.

"Yeah he called me to his office after I saved one of his employees, and property, from some thug."

Norman looked at May sternly "What do you mean by 'saved'"

May suddenly got nervous, she knew when the tone in her dad's voice changed, things just got real. "I-I battled the thug and beat him" May stammered.

"May I don't ever want you getting involved with criminals like that again, you could have been hurt"

"But he could've hurt the man if I didn't intervene. What would you want me to do huh? Stand by and let that happen?"

"Yes if it means you'll be safe." Norman replied.

"Well dad, I guess I'll just head home, cause I can't do that. If I see someone in trouble, I'm helping them" May managed to say, using all the courage she had in her.

Norman sighed and kneeled down to put his hands on his daughter's shoulders "May, I don't want you to end your journey, I just want you to be safe. Look just promise me this. Be very wary of criminals. The one you came across was probably some softcore thug out to make a quick buck like the ones back in Goldenrod, but there are those that don't care about money or fame. There are individuals who have hearts as cold as ice, monsters who are blinded by self righteousness, those that just want to watch the world burn. These are the ones you must be wary of May. Promise me you'll learn to identify those criminals, and stay clear of them."

"I will dad" May replied looking into her father's eyes.

"Thank you" Norman said, getting back upright "Anyways, what brings you back to Petalburg?"

"I was buying some supplies. Brendan and I are heading to Dewford Town by boat, so we might get a little hungry along the way."

"Why are you heading to Dewford?" he asked.

"For a couple of reasons" May answered "first off, to beat the gym there, and the next reason is Mr. Stone asked me to complete two tasks for him, one of which involves me heading to Dewford to deliver a letter to his son."

"Oh…Hey before you go, how about registering your old man in your pokenav so we can call each other whenever!"

"Of course"

Father and daughter both took out their pokenavs

_Click, Click_

"There, we are registered. Well I have to head back to the gym, see you hon!"

"Bye dad, say hello to mom for me!"

"Will do" and with that, Norman exited the pokemart. May paid for the supplies, and headed back to Mr. Briney's cottage.

* * *

When she arrived, she saw Brendan helping Mr. Briney set up the sails for the boat.

"Good morning Brendan" May greeted as she neared the boat.

"Oh hey May!" Brendan replied smiling.

"Did you get the supplies?" Mr. Briney asked.

"Sure did" May replied showing him the bag full of food.

"Alright! Hop aboard, and we'll start sailing to Dewford!"


	12. Dewford Town

**This chapter contains a scene violent in nature. If you do not want to read that scene, skip to the bolded 'Back to May and Brendan'. I hope you enjoy, oh and review please!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Steve Miller Band or their song Fly Like an Eagle, for they both will be referenced in this chapter. **

** Dewford Town**

LaRousse City, the hub for all that is new in technology and innovation. Located north of Lilycove, the beautiful city of LaRousse is located on an island that rests at the confluence of two rivers. The city is populated by scientist, tourists, and trainers alike, living with the most amazing advancements of technology so far in history such as moving sidewalks, security bots, trams that move at speeds of 100mph, automated vending machines, and one of the most complex computerized security systems in not just Hoenn, but the whole world. There has just been one complaint by the citizens. The city was behind in green technology. Unlike its counterpart Lilycove, they had no solar panels or wind farms. Luckily the citizens finally got their knight in shining armor...Jonathan and The Hearts From Hoenn. With a constant pressure from the public, LaRousse City officials finally caved in and allowed The Hearts From Hoenn to set up wind farms to power LaRousse, effectively putting the multi-billion dollar company in control of another city's power grid, but the citizens did not mind. The Hearts From Hoenn was one of the most trustworthy and well-respected companies in the public's eye. The companies CEO Jonathan had even been the champion of Hoenn! not only that, but he would make it his priority to come and talk with the public, or be there at the grand openings of his projects that benefitted the community. That's where Jonathan was right now, on a stage at the new Hearts From Hoenn funded LaRousse wind farms, looking over a crowd of cheering people.

"I now proclaim this wind farm officially up and running!" Jonathan proclaimed.

A large crowd cheered and clapped as the wind farm was activated powering the beautiful city of LaRousse.

"LaRousse City is now officially running on green energy!" Jonathan proclaimed once more.

The crowd cheered even louder.

"We at the Hearts From Hoenn want to thank you for your persistence in getting your city officials to switch to green energy. In this troubling times, we face war, overpopulation, poverty, unemployment, pollution, and an energy crisis. But what you've shown not just Hoenn, but the world today is that you are all ready to make changes. You've shown that you are all willing and capable of coming together as a community to put something in place that will help alleviate one of the problems we face today. It may be small, compared to the rest of the world, but the action you took to get even something small that will help our world shows that we as human beings are ready to change, we are ready to better ourselves for the good of all mankind and the world!

Again the crowd went wild.

"Thank you and goodbye!" he waved and stepped down from the platform where he gave his speech and headed towards a large black helicopter on standby waiting to take him back to Lilycove City.

Two guards in dark military fatigues opened the chopper door for Jonathan.

"Let's go" Jonathan quickly said as he got in.

The pilot started the chopper up.

The blades began to revolve quickly, gaining speed with every revolution, until the chopper began to ascend.

Jonathan looked down at the happy cheering crowd, his face now changed into a contorted frown. These people were so gullible, they believed a simple wind farm was going to change their problems, let alone Hoenn's. He hated their ignorance, but that's what kept him in business for the time being anyway, until his plans could come to fruition. Jonathan pulled out his pokenav and started to dial a number

_Ring, Ring_

Back in Lilycove, deep within the Hearts From Hoenn Headquarters, Admin Esteban got a phone call.

"Hello"

"Esteban, how are the new recruits doing?" came Jonathan's voice from the other end.

Before Jonathan had called, Admin Eseban had been overseeing the new recruits for the HFHSS (The Hearts From Hoenn Security Service), the paramilitary arm of the company. Recruits were picked from the most impressionable of all youths, the ones who stared poverty in the face their whole lives. The HFHSS gave them an opportunity out of that life, at the price of their free will. Once an individual had entered the HFHSS, he was driven through a rigorous five month indoctrination process that not only conditioned the body to peak heights, but the mind as well. The only loyalty was to the HFHSS and Jonathan. The HFHSS was their tribe and Jonathan was their chieftain. His ideals were there bible, and they would die for him and the cause. The new recruits were in their fifth week, they still had some humanity in them. It was Esteban's job to destroy it.

"They're terrible, they can't run, they can barely complete a proper set of pushups, and to top it off they can't shoot to save their lives. It's gonna take a lot to get these punks fit for the HFHSS" Esteban grumbled.

"Well that's why I'm paying you my friend" Jonathan chuckled.

"Yeah don't worry; I'll make killers out of these pathetic excuses for men."

"Good, good…So how's Miklo doing?" Jonathan asked.

"The doc got the bleeding to stop. He's fine; I think he's resting in the ER. I'm not sure if they put the hook on his hand, oops I mean stump, yet" Esteban chuckled.

"Alright, thanks for the update. I'll arrive soon to size up the recruits" and with that Jonathan signed off.

"Alright time to test the hearts of these punks" Esteban muttered to himself.

"Alright maggots up front!" Esteban yelled with a booming voice.

The recruits; who were running on a 1 mile track inside an expansive room in the Hearts From Hoenn Headquarters. They ran towards Esteban in single file formation.

"Alright you miserable fucks, it's time to test how tough you are, because if you want to be part of this organization and make the big bucks, you'll need to be fucking ruthless!"

The recruits stood silent.

"Bring out the volunteer!" Esteban yelled.

"Immediately, two HFHSS guards in full military gear appeared through a door, one carrying a chair, a rope, and a blowtorch. The other dragging a man in a red uniform and hood.

"What we have here is a Team Magma grunt" Esteban informed the recruits as the two guards tied him to the chair, removing his hood.

"He has stated he'd rather die than betray his organization. We will grant his wish, but before he goes to the other side, he's gonna help us with a little demonstration" Esteban said as one of the guards handed him the blow torch.

"When trying to acquire information from others, one must sometimes turn to some unusual methods of information obtaining" Esteban lit the torch "observe."

Esteban walked up to the Magma grunt.

"N-N-N-No, stay away from-AAHHHHHH!" the Magma grunt shrieked as Esteban placed the searing hot flame to his face. "Notice how I do not give him a chance to finish begging, establishing that I don't give two fucks about his life."

"OH GOD IT HURTS, KILL ME, KILL ME PLEASE!" the grunt yelled.

"Shut the hell up!" Esteban yelled slugging the screaming grunt with his free hand "we're getting to that."

Esteban cleared his throat. "As I was saying, when obtaining information…." Esteban slowly placed the flame next to the grunt's face, causing him to scream in pain. "Do not get into the heat of the moment and turn the amp up to 11 immediately. You slowly ease the dial, so the victim feels every inch of pain, then…" Esteban shoved the flame right onto the man's face, a blood curling scream flooding throughout the expansive room "you give em everything you got!"

The Magma grunt's screaming caused all the recruits to have their eyes widened in shock at the scene unfolding before their eyes.

"Leave him alone!"

Esteban removed the torch from the grunt's face. He turned around and said with a chuckle to mask his rage "Who said that?"All eyes turned toward one of the recruits in the line. Esteban walked up to him. "Did you say that?" The recruit nodded fearfully.

Immediately Esteban struck him with a right hook, causing the recruit to fall to the floor. Before the recruit could even regain his bearings, a cold metallic object was shoved into his mouth. He opened his eyes, revealing Esteban sticking a 9mm handgun in his mouth.

"What was that huh!? You wanted to say something?!" Esteban yelled. The recruit tried to talk, but the gun muffled his voice. "Can't speak with a gat in your mouth huh, you punk ass leva!" The recruit's eyes were wide with fear.

"Say goodnight prick!"

BAM

The recruit crumpled to the floor, his brains and skull fragments sprawled on the floor in a crimson mess.

"That takes care of that!" Esteban proclaimed as he turned toward the rest of the recruits. "Anybody got something to say about that?"

They all stood silent.

"Good" he said as he went back to the center. "You there" he said pointing to one of the recruits in the formation "get over here."

The recruit quickly complied.

"Here" Esteban said handing him the blow torch "it's your turn" he said gesturing toward the Magma grunt.

* * *

**Back to May and Brendan…**

The sun glistened off the waves that crashed off Mr. Briney's boat as it skidded across the ocean waterway known as Route 105 to reach Dewford Town. May stood on the boat watching the waves roll past her. She smiled; there was just so much beauty in this moment. The sun high in the sky, the glistening waves, the sea breeze gently blowing onto her face, and the squawking Wingulls, overhead up in the clear blue sky. She sighed; Hoenn was a perfect place for her. It was so beautiful, so free…

"Hey May, you want some?"

May turned around, revealing a smiling Brendan handing her a nutrition bar.

"Sure" she replied with a smile as she grabbed the bar, she hadn't eaten all day.

"They sure are good" Brendan mumbled as he took a bite from his own.

May took a bite into, her face immediately lit up. "You got that right!"

"Four more knots until we reach Route 106!" Mr. Briney called out from the navigation quarters. "Wingull!" Peeko squawked.

"Four knots? what's that?" Brendan mumbled confused.

"Nautical miles" May answered and then took another bite out of the nutrition bar "Mmmm Mmmm that's good."

"I guess we still have ways to go" Brendan said, lazily stretching his arms as he sat on a bench.

"Yeah we still have ways to go" May said as she finished her bar and sat down next to him "then we also have to go through Route 106 which will take even longer."

"That sucks" Brendan remarked "when do you think we'll get there?"

"My guess is probably in the early evening" May answered, crossing her legs as she placed her hands behind her head and leaned back to look at the beautiful sky.

"That won't leave us with a lot of time to do much" Brendan said with a disappointed face.

"Yeah, I think all I'll have time for is my gym match" May said, her eyes still to the sky.

"I thought you were heading over there to deliver a letter?" Brendan asked.

"That too" May said "maybe we'll ask around town to see if anybody knows where he is."

"What's his name again?" Brendan asked.

"Steven" May said simply, now with her eyes closed as a salty sea breeze hit the two trainers, bringing a chill down both of their spines.

_"God I love the ocean, everything about it...the water, the breeze, the carefree water pokemon, the smell, it's all so beautiful...I feel truly free, like a bird... 'I want to fly like an eagle...to the sea, fly like an eagle let my spirit carry me, I want to fly like an eagle till I'm free, oh, lord, through the revolution...'"_

"May"

May opened her eyes "yeah, what is it."

"Are you okay, you had a really creepy look on your face, and you bobbing your head up and down."

"oh I'm fine" May told a concerned Brendan "I was just listening to a little Steve Miller in my head."

"Oh" Brendan said with realization in his voice. May once again closed her eyes and began to listen to the music in her head.

"Hey May"

May opened her eyes once again "what?"

"I think it's time for lunch" Brendan said, looking at her straight in her blue eyes.

"Okay" May replied a little confused "what do you want me to do about it?"

"I meant for the pokemon" Brendan said "they haven't eaten all day."

"Oh yeah" May said sitting back up "I can't believe I forgot all about my pokemon."

"How could you" Brendan said playfully "you're heartless!"

"Yeah, I'm as cold as ice" May chuckled as she pulled out a bowl and a jar of pokefood from her fanny pack. She placed the bowl on the floor and poured the contents of the jar into the bowl. When she was finished she unclipped her pokeballs from her belt, and released her pokemon. Brendan did the same.

Out of May's pokeballs came her Torchic, Skitty, and her unmoving Silcoon. Out of Brendan's pokeballs came his Mudkip, Zigzagoon, and Seedot. The two groups of pokemon stretched out and observed their surrondings. They looked at each other curiously, then turned toward their respective trainers.

"No battles right now" May said with a cheerful smile "It's lunch time!"

All the pokemon made cheerful cries (with the exception of Seedot and Silcoon) and went over to the bowl full of pokefood (with the only exception being Silcoon this time) and began to eat. May reached over to pick up Silcoon and placed him on her lap, then placed her gaze over to the happy pokemon. The cheerful sight brought a smile to her face. She didn't notice Brendan staring at her with a smile on his face.

_"She's really motherly toward her pokemon. I really like that..." _Brendan thought to himself as another breeze blew making her bangs flutter, teasing her forehead. Brendan suddenly felt a weird feeling in his stomach as he gazed upon May. He felt this feeling before, a long time ago when he was a kid...he couldn't place why.

"They get along really well huh" May said, breaking Brendan away from his thoughts.

"Huh?" Brendan said muddled "what do you mean?"

"Our pokemon" May said flashing him a cheerful and somewhat bewildered smile "who else would I be talking about?"

"Oh right, of course!" Brendan said rubbing the back of his neck embarrassed. He looked over toward the pokemon interacting with each other after their meal. After a brief silence, Brendan regained some of his wit "They get along just like their trainers" he chuckled. May gave him a nod and turned back to their pokemon. She noticed Mudkip and Zigzagoon running around the boat playing some sort of game, probably tag. Torchic was busy speaking (however pokemon spoke to each other) with Skitty. Torchic had a nervous forced smile when 'speaking'. Whenever Skitty responded, he gave out a nervous chirp. Brendan's Seedot was busy sitting on one of the far corners of the boat avoiding everyone else.

"Hey Seedot, why don't you go play with the rest of the pokemon?" Brendan asked. Seedot was silent.

"What's wrong with Seedot?" May asked with a slight hint of concern in her voice.

"He's been acting like this since I first got him" Brendan answered "I guess he just needs time to warm up to me..."

"I'm sure he will" May said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Thanks."

The two were silent for the next few minutes. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, they just were savoring the scene they were in. Their pokemon (well some of them) happily playing on a boat as they flew past the clear blue waves of the ocean, a speck on a giant blue canvas. Even then, this mighty blue canvas was but a speck compared to the whole universe, but did that make it insignificant? May and Brendan certainly would not agree, because if that were true than all the happy feelings they had in this moment were insignificant, and they would most definitely disagree with that, for feelings are what made people human, to sense and observe the world around you and evoke emotion from it. Emotion you could use to compose a song our write a poem, being human was certainly not insignificant...right?

"Oh my" Brendan yawned stretching his arms "I got sleepy all of a sudden."

"Well take a nap" May suggested, lightly petting the Silcoon on her lap.

"Where?" Brendan replied looking around for a place to lay his weary head.

"Hmmmm..." May lightly placed her index finger on her lips "where can Brendan sleep...I know!" she exclaimed making her brilliant sapphire orbs light up "hold him" she said handing Brendan Silcoon.

"What do you want me to do with him?" Brendan asked.

"Nothing just hold him" May replied as she dusted off her lap "there, you can rest on me."

Brendan flustered slightly "a-are you sure?"

May nodded "go ahead, I don't mind. Just keep Silcoon on you so he can have someone holding him."

"O-Okay" Brendan muttered as he took off his hat and slowly laid his head onto May's lap, his heart beating wildly as the feeling in his stomach came back.

"Comfy" May asked hovering over his head.

"Yup" he muttered as he closed his eyes. She certainly was comfortable, she had nice firm and toned legs that kept his head nestled in comfort. He hugged Silcoon as his fatigue overcame his tension and he fell asleep. May looked over him as he and Silcoon slept.

_"He's so cute" _May giggled as she lightly played with his dark hair. She noticed him shiver as another sea breeze blew. She had just the thing to keep him warm. She pulled out a blanket from her fanny pack and placed it over Brendan and Silcoon. As soon as the warm blanket was over him, he let out a soft exhale of approval as a smile slowly came across his face. May smiled back at the sleeping form of Brendan. She laid her head back, closed her eyes and feel asleep.

* * *

**Later that Evening…**

"Hey kids wake up!"

May opened her eyes. She was greeted by the wrinkled face of Mr. Briney hovering over her.

"Come on wake up, we've landed in Dewford!"

"We did?" May yawned rubbing her eyes. She looked around. All the pokemon were sprawled across the boat napping. She looked past the boat and realized the boat was docked on a pier, gently swaying with the gentle waves. Beyond the pier was a small coastal community nestled on the white sandy beach, with residential homes made to look like tiki huts. The community was so small that she could make out the Pokémon center and the town gym from the pier. Beyond the small town in gnarled twisting mess was an overgrowth of vegetation and high rising palm trees swaying to and fro. Even farther at the heart of the island stood a towering mountain overlooking the surrounding sea in all its glory.

"Wow" May gasped in awe at the tranquil seaside community. She had never seen a community like this, save for T.V and movies. While May looked on at Dewford Town, Brendan slowly began to wake up.

"What time is it?" he yawned as he sat upright.

"6:23 I believe" Mr. Briney said simply, handing Brendan his hat which he had dropped in his slumber.

"Jeez it's that late" Brendan muttered as he got up and laid Silcoon on the bench to stretch "we fell asleep for a while didn't we."

"You two sure did" Mr. Briney said as a smirk made its way onto his face "you two seem to be real comfortable together."

"Oh uh well there was nowhere else to sleep" Brendan said looking down to hide his blushing face.

"Hey everybody wake up" May said clapping her hands to get the sleeping pokemon awake. They stirred and opened their eyes slowly. The pokemon were soon upright and stretching their rested limbs. "Everyone done?" May asked the pokemon when they had finished their stretches. The pokemon all nodded in agreement. May grabbed her pokeballs and recalled her Torchic, Skitty, and Silcoon. Brendan did the same and recalled his Mudkip, Zigzagoon, and Seedot. Once this was finished, they fastened the spheres onto their belts and disembarked the boat.

"Thanks for the ride Mr. Briney" May said as she and Brendan stepped onto the wooden pier.

"It was my pleasure young lady" Mr. Briney said with a bow as Peeko flew down from the sky to perch on his shoulder "just tell me when your business here is done so I can ferry you two over to Slateport."

"Wingull!" Peeko squawked.

"We'll try not to take too long over here" May replied as she and Brendan started down the pier.

"Take as long as you want my dear!" Mr. Briney called out "me and Peeko don't have anything to do really, hell this will like a vacation for us!"

May and Brendan both waved to Mr. Briney as his figure slowly disappeared from sight and they stepped onto the white sand.

"So May" Brendan started turning toward May "what's first on the agenda?"

"Well I was thinking we should ask around town to see if anybody here has seen Steven" May replied.

"Oh alright, let's go see-" before Brendan could finish, a large bird like pokemon swooped down low, past the two trainers' heads.

"Swellow!" it cawed as it flew away from the town in the direction of a path that lead down the beach to Route 106.

"Holy shit that was a Swellow!" Brendan exclaimed with beaming eyes "those are rare in the wild!" he said as he ran down the beach after it "come back!"

"Wait Brendan!" May called out, but it was too late. Brendan in all his excitement did not hear her. He soon disappeared from sight. May sighed "there you go again..." Shaking her head, she headed toward the town, leaving a sandy trail behind her.

May soon fund herself in the town square, the heart of the town. It appeared all the houses and structures were situated around the town facing the center. It appeared the town's main source of income was tourism. Some hints were the total lack of anything that could raise revenue other than small stores selling novelty items. May also assumed that the beautiful location and the laid back town were prime factors for vacationers.

May looked around. No one was outside. _"I guess everybody's getting ready for bed. Now who am I going to ask about our elusive friend Steven?"_ May looked over toward the Pokémon Center _"maybe I should start there."_ May strode toward the center and entered the complex. Inside the light were dimmed, and behind the counter stood a bored looking Nurse Joy. I should say WAS bored, because she immediately perked up when she saw a new face.

"Oh hello, I haven't seen you before. You must be new in town."

"Oh yeah I just got here" May replied as she approached the counter.

"Well Dewford welcomes you, we're always happy to see a new face since we don't get them very often...except when spring break comes along and all those frat boys come spilling out of the boats and onto our town bringing their filth and ill manners with them" Nurse Joy shuddered "that's the price for your town being a tourist attraction I guess."

"Jeez is it that bad?"

Nurse Joy nodded "yes it is, there hasn't been a spring break were I haven't had to wash the puke of another person off my nurse's outfit."

"That sounds real nasty" May commented making a disgusted face.

"It sure is...oh I'm sorry for going off topic, how can I help you?" Nurse Joy asked.

"I was wondering if a man by the name of Steven happened past here" May said.

"Oh yes I remember a man named Steven!" Nurse Joy proclaimed "like I said, we don't get newcomers very often so I remember new faces."

"That's great!" May exclaimed, believing her search for Steven would be over faster than she expected "do you know where he is?"

Nurse Joy shook her head.

_"Damn"_

"I'm so sorry I can't tell you where he is" Nurse Joy apologized "that man is very secretive. Don't get me wrong, he was very nice and had the etiquette of a southern gent, but he is really reserved. He just asked me to heal his pokemon, and he was off."

"Oh..." May said glumly.

"Hey maybe you should go ask Brawly" Nurse Joy suggested.

"Brawly?"

"Yes, he's the gym leader around here" Nurse Joy informed her "he also has the usual scoop on what's going on around town. I think he's in his gym right now if you want to go ask him."

"Okay, well it looks like I have to give Brawly a visit" May said as she turned around and started toward the Pokémon center's exit "thanks for your help Nurse Joy."

"Anytime dear, I hope you find him!"

* * *

May exited the pokemon center and stepped out onto Dewford Town once again. By now the sun was setting making the palm trees silhouettes, and bathing the island and the surrounding sea in an ambient orange glow. May started toward the gym.

_"You know, the sun is setting. I probably won't have time to go looking for Steven even if Brawly knows where he is, so I think I might have time for a gym battle..."_

May reached the gym double doors. She opened them and stepped inside. The gym was lit by a cluster of tiki torches situated on the side walls of the gym. In the center was a sandy battlefield so Brawly could battle challengers. On the opposite side of May stood the man himself...Brawly. He was sitting on a stool polishing his surfboard. May gawked in awe at the young man of about 20 years old. He was...buff. May could see the biceps pushing up against his loose orange shirt, that's right a LOOSE orange shirt. Not only that, but she could see his six pack poking from the shirt, begging to be released. The boy himself looked handsome and laid back, his light blue hair reflecting that look. May's stood there for a while taking it all in, until the boy sensed May and looked up.

"Oh hello babe, are you okay?" he asked standing up, noticing May's mouth slightly opened.

"Wha-oh yeah uh I was just uhh..." May stammered as she closed her agape mouth with her hand "I was just here to ummm...what the hell was I here for?" she asked herself with her cheeks flustered.

"Are you okay there little lady? it looks like you're burning up" Brawly said with concern in his voice.

"Ummm...you know what, I just need to get this off my chest" May started as she composed herself "you sir, are really buff, I mean like REALLY buff you know" she chuckled.

"Oh uh thanks" the young man said scratching his head "I like to keep in shape to show off my body when I go surfing."

"Well you are doing a great job at it. I'm serious, that body of yours is really toned" May complimented as she finally remembered why she had come to the gym in the first place "anyway, I was asking around town to see if anybody knew where a man named Steven was. I asked Nurse Joy and she told me you might know."

"Ummm...Steven..." Brawly pondered rubbing his chin "actually yes I do recall a man by the name of Steven come into town."

"Really!" May exclaimed "do you know where he is?"

"Oh sorry babe, he didn't tell me where he was going" Brawly replied "he just said hi and went on his merry way."

"Oh..." May muttered glumly.

"Hey don't be so down babe" Brawly said with a comforting voice as he laid his hand on her shoulder "hey, maybe one of my friends knows where the dude is!"

"Really!" May said perking back up "where are your friends?"

"They're having a little evening BBQ down by the beach" Brawly replied "I was heading over right now in fact."

"Oh well let's head over now!" May said, turning to exit the door.

"Hold on babe"

May turned around "yeah, what is it?"

"I see you have pokeballs on your belt...you're a trainer aren't you?" Brawly inquired.

"Yup" May answered "I'm still a beginner though..."

"Is that so..."Brawly said with a sly smile forming on his face "have you challenged any gyms?"

May nodded and pulled out her gym case to show him the Stone Badge.

"Nice" Brawly said nodding in approval "you beat Roxanne, she's a tough customer..."

"Thanks" May said putting her gym case away. "You know..." she started "It might be too late to be looking around for Steven. How about we have a gym battle!"

"I was about to suggest the same thing" Brawly said "I'll give you a quick run on the gym rules. My gym takes single 2 on 2 or single 3 on 3 battles. Potions and status healing items are not allowed. You ready?"

"Sure am!" May replied as she got onto the challenger's side of the battlefield "let's do this!"

"Alright babe, try not to get swamped by the power of my fighting types!" Brawly proclaimed "Go Machop!"

Out of Brawly's pokeball came a short humanoid pokemon with gray skin tone, bulging muscles, and three brownish crests on the top of its head.

"Machop!" he roared, clenching one of his fists and slamming it into his open palm.

May pulled out her pokedex.

_"Machop the superpower pokemon. It continually undertakes strenuous training to master all forms of martial arts. Its strength lets it easily hoist a sumo wrestler onto its shoulders."_

May put her pokedex away.

_"Okay fighting types, I guess Brawly is the offensive type" _May thought to herself _"What's effective against the fighting type? Psychic and the flying type from what I remember in the book...shit I don't think I have any pokemon that are effective against this type. Okay think May, you have two pokemon you can use right now since Silcoon doesn't move at all. Torchic is neutral to the fighting type, but he does know a move that's super-effective against that typing. I think I'll save him for later in the match...so all I have left is Skitty, who is vulnerable to this typing. Oh well, I know we can think of a plan to come on top, even if the odds are stacked against us!"_

May pulled out the pokeball containing Skitty and threw in into the air "Come on out girl!"

"Skit Skit!" Skitty meowed as she burst out of the pokeball.

"A normal type huh" Brawly said with his arms crossed "an interesting typing to go up against a fighting type. I hope you know what you're doing."

"Hey I never do anything without a plan" May replied "well...no that's not true, I do a lot of things without having a plan in mind, but this time I do!"

_"I really don't have a plan, I usually just come up with things as I go along..."_

"I hope that's true babe, Machop use Low Kick!" Machop hearing his trainer's command, immediately sprinted towards Skitty with intent to injure.

"Dodge and use Growl!" May yelled _"that should lower his attack." _Skitty jumped out of Machop's incoming kick and let a sharp growl escape from her throat lowering the attack of the superpower pokemon.

"Trying to lower our attack are you" Brawly said with a smirk "that won't work babe, Machop use Bulk Up." Machop closed its eyes and gritted his teeth. His muscles tensed and his energy was used to raise both his attack and defense. "See babe, you try and lower our attack, we'll just raise it back up along with our defense" Brawly uttered with a supercilious smile. "Chop" Machop grumbled, agreeing with his trainer.

_"Shit he's right" _May thought with her teeth gritted and her hands clenched _"Stat lowering won't work here. Damnit what am I going to do?! Oh I know, we'll use our feminine charms..."_

"Your're right, lowering your attack won't work if you keep raising it" May said with a slick smile forming across her face "but what if your pokemon is so struck with the love bug he can't move?"

"What are you getting at?" Brawly said with concern forming across his face.

May chuckled "I'll show you, Skitty use Attract!" Hearing this, Skitty posed cutely to infatuate Machop. Machop immediately formed hearts in his eyes as he was taken by Skitty's charms.

"Gah!" Brawly gasped "not knarly! come on Machop, she's just a tease! she won't love you!" Machop didn't answer. All his focus was on the cute pink kitten standing opposite of him.

"Okay, now Skitty use Assist!" May yelled. Skitty opened her mouth and shot out a flurry of poisonous darts that skimmed through the air and struck Machop, piercing his muscled gray skin.

"Chop" he grumbled as his gray skin became paler, and the hearts in his eyes ceased to exist. He now looked at Skitty with rage in his eyes, and his muscles bulging so much, that May was afraid they would burst out of the pokemon's skin.

"Wrong move babe" Brawly chuckled "you just activated Machop's Guts ability. Now his attacks pack an extra punch!"

"G-Guts?" May stammered.

_"Guts is an ability that raises the power of a pokemon's attacks after they have been paralyzed, burned, or poisoned" _her pokedex answered.

_"Oh no, that does not sound good."_

"Machop use Karate Chop!" Brawly yelled. Machop charged toward Skitty, its rage fueling its movement as it got ready to slam its hand onto the normal type.

"Dodg-" Before May could even finish her command, Machop slammed his hand onto Skitty's head making the pink kitten hit her chin onto the sandy battlefield making a rain of sand spread across the field. "Skit..." Skitty mumbled as her eyes turned into swirls. She was knocked out.

"Ay wey!" May exclaimed, shocked by the power of Machop's attack "that fuckers got an arm on him!" she said as she recalled Skitty back into her pokeball.

"He sure does" Brawly said "send out your next pokemon babe."

"Alright" May muttered as she pulled out the pokeball containg Torchic "I guess it's up to you little vato!" Out of May's pokeball came her trusty fire type. "Tor!" he chirped as he jumped up and down, ruffling his feathers. He was ready to throw down.

"Cool a Torchic" Brawly said observing the little chick pokemon "I've never seen one in person before."

"Well it's your lucky day today" May replied "now Torchic use Growl!"

"Tor" Torchic nodded as it let a low growl escape from its mouth, lowering Machop's attack.

"Ha!" Brawly laughed "with Guts backing him up, he doesn't even need to use Bulk Up. Use Low Kick!" Machop nodded and then set his sights on Torchic. May couldn't help but notice Machop cringing in pain. She knew that the poisoning was still affecting him despite Guts backing him up. _"Maybe his poisoning will affect his performance."_

Machop sprinted toward Torchic, stumbling a few times as he went.

_"That poison is definitely affecting him."_

"Dodge and use Ember!" May instructed. Torchic did as he was told and jumped out of Machop's way just as Machop used a sweeping kick, sending a hail of sand fly every which way. Torchic inhaled, and exhaled letting out a swarm of fiery projectiles speed toward Machop and strike him with impressive force. "Chop!" he cried in pain as he shot Torchic a death glare.

"Machop, quick use Vital Throw!" Brawly yelled. Machop slammed its hand into the sand and pulled out a small rock. He swung his arm back, then flung it at May's fire type. "Tor!" Torchic cried as it was sent back by the force of the thrown rock.

"Quick while he's down use Karate Chop!" Brawly yelled. Machop started to run towards Torchic.

"Get up Torchic here's our chance!" May cried.

_"Our chance?"_ Torchic had no idea what May was planning, but he was not one to question his friend. He quickly stood up to face the angry Machop charging at him. He got closer and closer...

"Shift out of his way and use Peck!" Hearing this, Torchic shifted his body to the right, narrowly avoiding Machop's incoming hand, and dug his beak into Machop's side. "Chop!" Machop cried in pain as the super-effective attack made his knees buckle, causing him to fall onto the sand on all fours.

"Get up buddy!" Brawly pleaded. "Chop..." Machop muttered as he slowly started to get back onto his feet, but the poisoning finally caught up to him, downing the tough fighting type. He fell face first back onto the sandy battlefield knocked out.

"Return Machop" Brawly said, recalling his fighting type "well I must say babe, you are a very talented battler. You have a real cool head and an impenetrable expression that I cannot for the life of me read. It's no wonder you beat Roxanne."

"Thanks" May replied happily accepting the compliment.

"But let's see if you and your Torchic have what it takes to go up against my main man. Come on out Lil Bro!"

Out of Brawly's next pokeball came a short and bulky yellow pokemon standing on two feet. He had a black chest and round hands that resembled black gloves. He also had red circles on his cheeks and slit-like eyes. "Makuhita!" he cried as he showed off his muscles.

"Lil Bro likes to strut his stuff just like me!" Brawly chuckled.

"That certainly is an interesting pokemon" May muttered as she once again pulled out her pokedex.

_"Makuhita the guts pokemon. It loves to toughen up its body above all else. If you hear quaking rumbles in a cave, it is the sound of Makuhita undertaking strenuous training."_

"Sounds tough" May admitted "but I think Torchic and I can take him!"

"We'll see, use Bulk Up Lil Bro!" Makuhita tensed his muscles, raising both attack and defense.

"You raised defense huh, well that won't help with a special attack, use Ember little vato!" "Tor!" Torchic cried as a rain of fire escaped his mouth striking Makuhita all over. "Kuhita!" Makuhita cried, cringing in pain.

"Retaliate with Vital Throw!" Brawly instructed. Makuhita dug into the sand looking for a rock to throw.

"Use another Ember little vato!" May yelled. Torchic once again let loose with a swarm of fire, hitting Makuhita on his side this time. Makuhita finally found a rock and flung it at Torchic with surprising speed. "Tor!" Torchic cried in pain as the rock sent him onto his butt.

"Quick use Arm Thrust!" Brawly yelled. Makuhita started to charge toward Torchic.

"Charge at him Torchic!" May instructed. Torchic charged at Makuhita. They two pokemon got closer and closer to each other.

"Now duck and use Peck!" May instructed. Torchic ducked under Makuhita's swinging fist, and slammed his beak onto his stomach dealing super-effective damage. Much to May and Torchic's surprise though, Makuhita swung his fist again, striking Torchic once, twice, thrice!

"Tor!" Torchic cried as the blows sent him back to May's feet knocked out.

"Torchic!" May gasped as she picked up her little vato and dusted the sand of his feathers.

"Makuhita!" Brawly's Lil Bro proclaimed as he showed off his muscles in triumph. "Good job Lil Bro, you just downed one of the toughest challengers I have ever faced" Brawly said as he recalled his main pokemon and walked over toward May.

"It's alright little vato, you did great out there..." May said warmly as she recalled Torchic back into his pokeball, and placed the red and white sphere onto her belt. "You did great too girl" May said patting the pokeball containing Skitty as she stood upright to face Brawly.

"Wow babe, that was an AMAZING battle!" May proclaimed "it was like two giant waves just crashing into each other, it was just so knarly!"

"Yeah it was a pretty intense battle" May said fanning herself with her hand "I just hoped I would win..."

"Oh don't feel too down babe...Hmmm...babe seems to general, I think I'll make a nickname for you...oh there I go drifting off again. Like I was saying, you may have lost, but you did extremely well. Just traim a little more, and I'm sure you could take this gym out."

"Thanks Brawly" May said with a smile on her face "there's always next time."

"That's right. If you miss a wave the first time, just take solace in knowing it will always come back."

May chuckled "surfer philosophy?"

Brawly nodded "the coolest most chill type of philosophy out there. Maybe you could take it with you and share it with all the other city girls."

"Hehe, I would, but where I come from we have our own kind of philosophy" May chuckled.

"Ahhhh of course, the laws of the street" Brawly remarked "I knew you where from the barrio, I could tell by the different phrases you uttered."

"You have a good ear" May replied "so...earlier you said something about a BBQ..."

"Oh yeah!" Brawly exclaimed, slapping his forehead "I almost forgot! Come on, I have a healing apparatus in the back of the gym."

"Alright, lead the way" May said as she followed Brawly into the back of his gym to heal their pokemon.

* * *

**Minutes Later...**

After healing their pokemon, May and Brawly left Dewford Town and found themselves walking along the beach looking for Brawly's friends and their barbeque. By now the sun was halfway beneath the waves, bathing the island with a radiant orange and purple hue. May was enjoying the brief trip, she never walked along such a beautiful beach during sunset. Back in Goldenrod, May had a large stack of romance novels that she use to read before going to bed during her pre-teen years. The majority of them contained at least one sequence were the lady walked along a beach with her lover as the sun set. She always tried to picture what it would be like to do this, but due to her lack of experience she never could. But now she was doing it, and it was everything she hoped it would be. The sand displacing beneath her feet as the swaying palm trees and gently crashing waves brought music to her ears. The only thing missing was Brendan standing beside her...

"Look at those waves" Brawly said breaking the silence "they gently crash onto the island, perfect for surfing..."

"It really is beautiful" May commented, gazing at the calm waves hitting the shoreline and receding back into the ocean "you're really lucky to live here."

"I sure am babe..." Brawly mumbled "Hmmm...I still haven't thought of a nickname for you."

"I'm sure you'll think of one" May said as a sweet aroma suddenly filled her nostrils and made her mouth water. She lightly pressed her hand against Brawly's chest to prevent him from walking further "you smell that?"

Brawly started to sniff the air "smells like a barbeque to me!" he said smiling as he inhaled another helping of the exquisite aroma.

"I think it's coming from further down the beach" May said as she started to walk faster toward the source of the aroma, with Brawly following close behind, clutching his surfboard tightly to his side.

May soon caught a glimpse of a group of three young men sitting at a table surrounded by two surfboards planted into the sand, and a grill. That was the source of the aroma.

May squinted her eyes to see better. One of the boys had long dirty blonde hair and a tanned muscular body. He was about Brawly's age. The next young man was tanned, muscular, and about Brawly's age as well. His head was shaven. The final boy was pale, strong, and oh so cute in May's eyes. He wore a familiar weird hat.

"Who's the third guy?" Brawly muttered to himself as the pair got closer to the BBQ.

"That's Brendan" May answered with a dreamy smile forming onto her face.

"Oh you know him."

"Yup" May replied never taking her eyes off Brendan.

"Oh I see" Brawly said with a mischievous smile finding its way onto his face "he's your boyfriend huh."

"Wha-N-No!" May exclaimed defensively "w-we're just traveling together!"

"Whatever you say Cool Azul" Brawly smirked.

"Cool Azul?" May said confused "is that my nickname?"

Brawly nodded.

_"Huh...Cool Azul...I kind of like it..."_

"Hey it's Brawly!" shouted the young man with long flowing blonde hair, causing everyone to turn around and see May and Brawly approaching.

"Hey May!" Brendan waved as soon as he saw May "didn't expect to see you here!"

"I didn't expect to see you here either" she chuckled as Brendan scooted to the side to make room for May. She smiled and sat down next to him "did you catch the Swellow?"

"No" Brendan said glumly.

"Oh well, there's always next time right?" May comforted with a cheerful smile as she patted him on the back.

"Yeah, you're right May" Brendan said as a smile came back onto his face.

"What's up brah" Brawly said as he planted his surfboard into the sand and went over to fist bump the blonde dude. "Sup dude" the blonde replied "this here's B-Dude" he said gesturing to Brendan "this guy was chasing a Swellow when we first saw him. Let me tell you, this boy can run. If the Swellow hadn't tried to shit on him, he would've caught that bird."

May began to giggle making Brendan blush.

"Oh yeah, May told me about him" Brawly replied, giving Brendan a wink.

"Hey B-Bude" the shaved head guy started out of the blue "is this your girlfriend?"

May and Brendan both blushed fiercely.

"N-No" Brendan stammered we're just good friends, right May."

"Wha-oh yeah, we're just friends" May replied.

_"Hopefully we'll be more than that someday."_

"So May" Brawly said breaking May away from her thoughts "this is Boone" he said gesturing to the young man with blonde hair.

"Pleased to met ya" Boone said holding out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you as well" May replied shaking the boys hand.

"And this is Larry" Brawly said gesturing to the young man with the shaved head "he loves anime and uh...smoking weed."

"Nice to meet you bromiga" Larry said holding his hand out. "Nice to meet you fellow toker" May replied with a smile as she returned the gesture and shook his hand "you at least have one of my interests."

"You don't like anime?" Larry asked.

"No" May said shaking her head "I could never get over those giant creepy eyes...'

"Wait wait" Brendan interrupted "did I just hear what I thought I heard?"

"What" May asked.

"Y-you...smoke?" he said in almost a whisper.

"What! of course not!" May gasped "I toke..."

"This is May, or as I like to call her, Cool Azul" Brawly told his friends, introducing May to his friends.

"I see they gave you a nickname as well" Brendan whispered to May.

"she just challenged my gym earlier, and believe me she is tough!" Brawly continued "she even made me send out Lil Bro, and she almost took him out as well!"

"Knarly!" the two young men proclaimed. "That is righteous" the blonde haired boy said as he got up and walked toward the grill "I need to get a patty for you Cool Azul"

"Thanks" May replied.

"Hey dudes" Brawly said grabbing his friends attention "May had something she wanted to ask you." Boone and Larry turned to May.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot!" May said as she slapped her forehead "I was wondering if you guys meet a man named Steven today."

"Did we?" Larry asked turning to Boone. "Hmmm..." Boone pondered as he flipped the patties "oh yeah we did!" he proclaimed "we meet him when we we're surfing by Route 106 this morning."

"Really!" May exclaimed _"Now we're getting somewhere!"_

"Yeah, he was a tall guy, bout six feet. He was wearing a black suit, and he had silver hair."

_"A black suit on a beach? this Steven guy is werid..." _"do you know where he was heading?" May asked.

"Afraid not" Boone replied "he just told us he was looking for rare told him a good place to look would be the Granite Cave."

"That's probably where he is!" May proclaimed excited as she sat up from the table "where is this Granite Cave?"

"It's at the end of Route 106. It's a giant pitch black cave created by the waves continuously hitting the rock face at high tide for years" Boone replied "but I don't think that dude is still in there if he did go in there...at least I hope he didn't stay there overnight..."

"I don't think you should go now though" Larry told May "it's pretty late, besides the burgers are almost ready, right Boone?"

"That's damn right" Boone replied as he placed the patties each between two buns, and placed the burgers onto five plates "in fact they're ready now!" Boone placed a plate in front of everyone.

_"Oh my, this looks absolutely delicious!"_

May licked her lips and took a bite into the burger. "Mmmmm Mmmmm" the grilled Tarous meat was divine.

"How are you two liking the burgers?" Boone asked Brendan and May.

"They're delicious!" May proclaimed.

"You got that right!" Brendan agreed he took a bite out of his "did you guys bring drinks?"

"We sure did" Boone replied lifting a cooler onto the table "it's a good thing I brought some soda, and not just beer like Larry over here did" Boone said flashing Larry a glare.

Brendan grabbed a soda pop. Brawly, Boone, and Larry got beers. May grabbed...a beer.

"M-May!" Brendan exclaimed in disbelief once again "you're drinking beer?!"

"Oh lighten up we all have our own vices" May replied "besides it's been a long day..."

* * *

**15 Minutes and 15 Beers Later...**

"May, h-how many beers did you have?" Brendan asked with concern in his voice.

"Oh not much" May slurred out as she held out her loose hand in front of her face and started to count her fingers "one...two...three...four...five...about fifteen."

"Fifteen!" everyone gasped.

"Yup" May giggled in her usual cute fashion.

"Uh B-Dude" Brawly whispered to Brendan "I think you should get her to the pokemon center to sleep this off."

"No kidding" Brendan whispered back as he got up and placed his hands on May's shoulders "uh May-"

"No" May interrupted lightly placing her index finger onto Brendan's lips. She then turned toward Brawly and drunkenly pointed at him "I heard _'hiccup'_ you." She got up and relived herself from Brendan's light grasp and staggered toward the ocean "I just need some water is all."

"Wait May!" Brendan cried realizing what May was going to do "you can't drink saltwater!"

"You can't tell me what I can and can't do!" May replied as she continued stumbling toward the sea "I'm a human being with natural rights_ 'hiccup'_ bestowed on me by god."

"No May, you're going to make yourself sick!"

"As stated by John Locke" May slurred out "we have the right to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit to get hammered..." with this said, May's feet buckled under her and she fell on her back.

"Are you okay?" Brendan asked as he sat her upright.

"My god Brendan_ 'hiccup'_ you have the cutest face!" she giggled.

Brendan became flustered "wha?"

"You're so cute!" May drunkenly proclaimed as she lightly pinched his cheeks "your cheeks are so chubby!"

Brendan started to feel the weird feeling in his stomach again "L-Look May you're drunk, let's just get you to bed. Can you walk?"

"Of course I can walk" May replied "I just for the life of me can't remember how..."

"Oh jeez" Brendan grunted as he placed his strong arms under her legs and back, and lifted her up "let's get you some rest."

"I'm not tired" May said sleepily as she loosely wrapped her right arm around his neck and cuddled up against his chest. Brendan's face lit up with shock and tension as May nestled up against him_"Oh lordy, bad thoughts are brewing. Think of documenting pokemon, think of documenting pokemon!"_

"Hey B-Dude, you need any help with her?" Brawly asked.

"No, I think I can handle her myself, goodbye" Brendan replied as he started toward Dewford.

"Goodbye" the surfers waved as Brendan and May got smaller and smaller until they disappeared from sight.

* * *

"Jeez Brendan, you've got some really strong pecs!" May said with a drunken smile as she started to grope his chest with her left hand. "Or are you smuggling Geodudes!" May giggled as she tried looking down his shirt.

_"Oh that damn giggle" _Brendan thought to himself as he started to become very hot "M-May, please stop, that's a no no" he said in whimper. They reached the pokemon center, and Brendan used his leg to open the double doors and enter.

"Good evening!" Nurse Joy greeted warmly "how can I-what's wrong with her?" she asked noticing May.

"I'm dr-"

"Drained of energy" Brendan interrupted "she's been up all day so she's just mad with sleep deprivation."

"Oh okay" Nurse Joy said skeptically "do you want me to get her a room?"

"That would be wonderful" Brendan muttered as he propped May back next to his chest as his muscles started to tire "and can you get one for me too please."

Nurse Joy nodded and grabbed two room keys. She gestured for Brendan to follow her. Brendan complied and followed her to a hall lined with doors each leading to a guest room. Nurse Joy opened one of the doors and let Brendan and May in.

"Thanks Nurse Joy" Brendan thanked with a smile. Nurse Joy nodded and left the two teens alone in the room. Brendan walked over toward the bed and gently laid her on it.

"Mmmmm...comfy..." May muttered sleepily with her eyes closed as she rolled around on the bed.

"Let's get you tucked in" Brendan said warmly as he pulled the covers over May's shoulders.

"Mmmmm..." May murmured with a happy drunken smile forming across her face as she drifted off into a deep comfortable alcohol-induced slumber.

"Goodnight May" Brendan said warmly as he lightly grazed May's soft honey colored face with his index finger. _"Get some rest my pretty little Latina neighbor...wait what am I saying! She's my friend! **But she's so cute...I just want to hold her and kiss**...stop_ _it Brendan, you're just a little disoriented because you're sleepy. **But what about when she said you were cute? Could there be something a little more than friendship between us... **No Brendan, you're letting your mind get to you. Besides she's drunk, that was just the alcohol talking. You need to stop thinking of your friend in any other way other than the relationship you have now: clean mutual friendship. 'sigh' let's just get some rest and get ready for tomorrow..."_

Brendan started toward the door. He looked back for just a second, then left May alone to sleep the day off.

**This chapter took me a long time to write since I rewrote the whole thing, but I did have some help to keep me motivated. That of course was the universal art we can all get behind...Music! If you are interested, here are some tracks I listened to while I wrote this chapter.**

**Buggin' Out ****by A Tribe Called Quest.**

**Fly Like an Eagle by The Steve Miller Band.**

**Give it Away by the Red Hot Chili Peppers**

**Holiday in Cambodia by the Dead Kennedys**

**So Whatcha Sayin' by EPMD**

**Listen to these songs if you want. Who knows? you might discover a band or genre of music you never knew you liked. Thanks for reading, and remember to review. It may not seem like much, but those reviews really keep me motivated!**


	13. The Granite Cave

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bob Marley and the Wailers or their song Satisfy My Soul for it will be referenced in this chapter.**

**The Granite Cave**

"Owwwww" May muttered as her eyes slowly fluttered open. Her head was throbbing something fierce. "Where am I?" She said sleepily as she looked around, observing her surroundings. A bed, a dresser, plain white walls...she was in a pokemon center guest room.

"I don't remember getting a room" May mumbled as she rubbed her throbbing head "hell I can't remember anything from last night."

_Ring Ring_

"AH damnit!" May exclaimed as she slammed her fist against the blaring alarm clock "stupid fucking alarm clock." She lifted herself off the bed and stretched, only to have another sharp pain course through her head. "Owwww!" May yelped placing her hand onto her head once more "what the hell did I do yesterday?" As she tried to figure out what had happened to her and how she ended up in the guest room, she realized she still had her clothes on from yesterday.

"Oh no, I think I got fucked up yesterday" May muttered, realizing she probably got drunk the day before "that explains the clothes and this awful pain my head."

Another sharp pain permeated throughout her head "I got to stop drinking" she grumbled as she pulled out a fresh pair of undergarments and her nightgown from her fanny pack. She untied her bandanna, took off her shoes and socks, and striped off her clothes and undergarments, letting her panties fall down her legs and her bra drop from her shoulders and onto the floor. She folded her dirty clothes and placed them on the bed so she could put them in the wash. She grabbed her clean undergarments and nightgown and went into the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth.

* * *

**30 Minutes Later...**

May stepped out of the bathroom with a cloud of steam trailing behind her. She wore her nightgown, a towel wrapped around her head, and of course her pendant hanging loosely from her neck.

_"I needed that shower"_ May thought to herself _"I feel refreshed, and my head's feeling better."_

Feeling clean and refreshed, May pulled out a clean pair of black socks and put them on, pulling them just below her knee. She then put on her shoes and grabbed her dirty clothes. She exited the guest room and entered the hallway.

As May started down the hall to the back of the pokemon center where the washer and dryer were located (she assumed since every pokemon center she had gone to had them in the back) she ran into Nurse Joy.

"Hi honey, how are you feeling?" the cheerful nurse asked.

"Oh I'm fine" May answered nervously _"oh god I hope she doesn't no I was drunk yesterday" _"Why do you ask?"

"Well because your friend Brendan had to carry you all the way over here" Nurse Joy replied.

"Hey did?" May said embarrassed as her cheeks became slightly pink.

Nurse Joy nodded "he said you had been up all day so you were just overcome with fatigue."

_'sigh of relief' "thank god he covered for me, I'll have to thank him for that later..."_

"Oh, well I guess I'll have to thank him when I see him...where is he anyway?" May asked.

"Oh I believe he's still sleeping in his room" Nurse Joy replied "well I see you're going to wash your clothes. I'll leave you to do that. I'm glad your feeling better honey, just don't strain yourself okay."

"Don't worry, I've learned my lesson" May chuckled "...thanks for caring ma'am."

"It's my job to care" Nurse Joy said with a warm smile as she turned and went down the hall to seat herself at her usual position; behind the pokemon center's counter.

May continued down the hall and finally reached the washer and dryer. She placed her dirty clothes into the washer with some detergent. She set the time for ten minutes, and the washer started up with its unmistakable hum. May walked back to her room to pass the time by wringing out her hair and looking at her pokedex entries.

* * *

**10 Minutes Later...**

May walked back to the washer. She peered inside and saw it was all done. She pulled out her now clean wet clothes, and placed them in the dryer. She turned the dial to thirty minutes. The dryer started up, and the tell-tale sound of wet clothes hitting the metallic interior of the dryer was audible.

_"Thirty Minutes huh, what am I going to do to pass the time?"_

May shrugged her shoulders "I guess a quick cat nap will suffice..." then her brilliant sapphire orbs lit up with a better idea "oh wait! Breakfast for my pokemon! They're probably hungry!" May started back to her room to get the food, bowl, and her pokemon. Before she could reach her room, a tall slender figure with jet black hair emerged from one of the other guest rooms that lined the hall, fully dressed with the exception of his hat and backpack.

"Oh boy" Brendan yawned as he stretched out his arms "I needed that."

"Hey Brendan."

"Wha-Oh hey May" Brendan replied as he turned around to greet May. As soon as he saw May, he started to giggle.

"What?" May said, becoming self conscious "Is there something wrong with my hair?"

"No" Brendan replied, still giggling "you got quite the fashion sense is all."

May looked at her attire. A nightgown that reached her thighs with shoes and a pair of black socks. "Oh uh well my regular clothes are dirty. I'm washing them right now" May said sheepishly.

"Oh I understand" Brendan said as he continued to giggle "it doesn't mean it's not funny."

"It's not that bad" May said with her arms crossed "and I think you should wash your clothes too sucio."

"My clothes are fine, they're still clean" Brendan said as he finally got control of his giggling "Besides I'm just messing with you...so how are you feeling?"

"Much better" May replied "sleeping and taking a nice hot shower did the trick."

"That's good" Brendan replied with his hands now in his pockets "I was worrying your head would be pounding this whole day...considering all the beer you drank."

"Was it really that much?" May asked embarrassed.

"Well I guess it all depends on the person" Brendan replied "I for one would consider FIFTEEN beers a lot."

"FIFTEEN" May said in disbelief "man I got to stop drinking...I hope I wasn't any trouble."

"Oh you were" Brendan chuckled "you should have heard the stuff you said..." once Brendan said this, his chuckling stopped and he became slightly flustered. he was remembering when May called him cute when she was drunk.

"Oh, well I'm sorry I was a handful" May apologized, not noticing Brendan's flustered face "thanks for taking care of me, it means a lot" she said with a warm smile.

"Oh uh I-it was no problem, what are friends for right?" He said nervously.

"Hehe, well you're a good friend" May said with an adorable smile as she patted him on the shoulder. Inside she wasn't very enthusiastic calling him a friend. She wanted to be so much more, but she didn't know if Brendan felt the same way. She wasn't going to go confessing her attraction toward him like some bubbly school girl. What if Brendan didn't have the same feelings toward her? She would lose a friend, and she didn't want that. She would rather stay friends with him than getting completely shut out by him all over loose lips and a weird feeling in her stomach. However, she hoped that one day he would see her as more than just a friend.

"T-Thanks" Brendan replied "so what are you going to do while you wait for your clothes to get washed?"

"Dried" May corrected "and I'm going to feed my pokemon some breakfast, you should to" May suggested.

"Well I don't have any pokefood, I was about to go buy some" Brendan replied.

"That's no problem" May said "I still have some pokefood left over. I'm pretty sure it's enough for all of our pokemon."

"Okay if you don't mind" Brendan said.

"Of course I don't mind" May said flashing him another endearing smile. God he loved the way she smiled. "It's in my room, follow me."

Brendan nodded and followed May into her room.

* * *

"Let me get the stuff" May said as she and Brendan entered the room. She walked over to her fanny pack and bent down to pull the bowl and pokefood out. Brendan couldn't help but stare at May's behind. May poured the food into the bowl, and laid herself out onto her bed as she casually unclipped her pokeballs from her belt that was strewn across the bed. She casually released her pokemon.

"Chic Chic!" Torchic chirped happy to see its trainer. He turned around and saw Brendan. He gave him a happy chirp as well.

"Skitty" Skitty meowed as May stretched her arm out to pet Skitty. The pink kitten purred to May's gentle touch.

The last one to come out was Silcoon. He was silent as usual. May took her hand away from Skitty so she could pick up Silcoon. "Eat up you two" may told her pokemon with a smile as she nodded toward the pokefood.

Both pokemon's eyes beamed as they walked over to the food and started to munch. ""Don't eat all of it, save some for Brendan's pokemon."

Brendan saw this as his cue. He pulled out his three pokeballs and released his Mudkip, Zigzagoon, and Seedot.

Mudkip and Zigzagoon greeted Brendan and May warmly and with May's permission, made their way toward the pokefood. Seedot walked to the corner of the room and sat.

"Aw come on Seedot have some breakfast" May said trying to coax him to eat.

Seedot was silent.

"Seedot what's wrong?" Brendan said with concern in his voice as he walked over to Seedot and kneeled down to look at him face to face. By now the other pokemon had stopped eating and were watching the scene unfold. "You can trust me buddy."

Seedot was still silent and stared into nothing.

"Brendan, where did you catch Seedot?" May asked.

"I didn't catch him" Brendan replied "I won him back in Petalburg from a pair of men who traveled from town to town giving away pokemon to people if they won a raffle."

"Doesn't that sound a little strange to you" May said with a worried look "a pair of men that just give pokemon away."

"Why is it strange?" Brendan asked.

"Well they're moving from town to town, that shows they don't like to stay in one place...that's pretty shady, it's possible they're trying to evade the pig's snout."

"Really?" Brendan said in disbelief.

"Yup" May nodded "what were their names?"

"Ummm...Tweedle-Douche and Tweedle-Dick if I remember correctly" Brendan answered.

"Those sound like aliases" May muttered "...Brendan, I-I think Seedot may have been used in some sort of illegal activity. Hell, he could have even been stolen!"

"What!" Brendan exclaimed shocked "you can't be serious!"

"Look Brendan" May started "that whole set up they had going on sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me."

"B-but if they stole Seedot, why would they just give him away? Wouldn't they want to make a profit on him or something?" Brendan inquired, still in disbelief.

"Maybe they couldn't find a buyer for him. My guess is those guys are working for some organization that is not so reputable by giving away stolen goods to unsuspecting people, in this case...you" May said with a look of concern.

"Oh god!" Brendan exclaimed as his breathing became heavy and audible "I'm a criminal!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions!" May said trying to comfort Brendan "I could be completely wrong. Let's ask Seedot" May looked over to Seedot who was still looking at nothing. _"I hope I'm wrong..."_

"Seedot" May started "were you...stolen?"

Seedot glanced toward May for a split second, but then went back to staring at nothing "...Seed."

"Oh no..." May muttered "I think he just confirmed my suspicions..."

"Oh no! I'm a criminal!" Brendan shrieked. He went over to May and grasped the loose shoulder straps on her nightgown and pulled her close "look I had no idea he was stolen, you got to believe me!"

"Hey calm down!" May said as she was taken off guard by Brendan's strength "I believe you!"

"Oh thank god..." he muttered as his grip loosened and he slumped to the floor "...what am I going to do?"

"Look you're not a criminal" May said as she got up from the bed to comfort him.

"Mud" Mudkip agreed as he walked over toward Brendan and rubbed his head against his arm.

"Thanks May, and you too Mudkip" Brendan mumbled as he turned around to face Seedot. "Seedot, I-I'm so sorry..."

"Seed..." the little acorn muttered sadly.

"Look Seedot" Brendan said as he crawled over toward Seedot "I'm really sorry about what happened to you, I truly am...But I need you to know I'm not like those people. I truly care for you. I want you and I to be friends. Can you please just give me a chance?"

Seedot probed Brendan meticulously with his eyes, doing his best to see if Brendan was sincere. After a short pause, Seedot was pleased with his findings and stood up.

"Seed" it said as it walked up to Brendan.

"Aw thanks Seedot!" Brendan exclaimed as he embraced Seedot in his arms.

May and the rest of the pokemon watched the heart warming scene with smiles they could not stop from forming on their faces.

After a long embrace, Brendan let Seedot go "go on buddy, get some breakfast" he said warmly. Seedot nodded and walked over to the food as the other pokemon happily welcomed him into their group.

May and Brendan watched their pokemon in a lighthearted silence. Their pokemon were soon finished, and started to play with one another. Torchic and Skitty talked to one another as Mudkip, Zigzagoon, and Seedot played tag, running around the room in jovial bliss. Silcoon still sat on the bed in an unmoving silence.

May let them play for about seven minutes. "I think my clothes are dry by now" she told Brendan as she stood upright "can you recall take care of Torchic, Skitty, and Silcoon for me while I get my clothes?"

"Of course" Brendan replied.

May nodded and left the room, and headed down the long hallway toward the washer and dryer. Sure enough, the dryer was off. May pulled out her now dry clothes and walked back to her room.

"Alright guys it's time to go back into the pokeballs, May's going to get dressed" Brendan said as he got up and recalled his pokemon. "I'll wait out in the lounge" he said as he left her room.

Now May was alone with her pokemon. "Alright everyone, it's time for you to go back into your pokeballs as well" she said as she recalled her pokemon. Once they were safely inside their respective red and white spheres, she removed her nightgown, folded it, and placed it in her fanny pack. She then took off her shoes so she could slip her tight biker shorts up her slender legs. Once that was done, she slid her shirt on, and put on her black and white gloves. Next was her shoes which she placed on her delicate feet once again. Lastly, she wrapped her green bandanna onto her head. Now she was fully clothed. She clipped on her fanny pack and her pokeball belt, and headed out.

* * *

Brendan sat on a sofa in the pokemon center's lounge fiddling with his pokedex when May finally came out of her room.

"I'm ready!" she said cheerfully as she walked up to Brendan.

"Alrighty then" Brendan said as he lifted himself off the sofa and put away his pokedex "what's the plan for today?"

"Today I was thinking of asking around town to see if anybody knows where that Steven guy is so I can deliver his dad's letter" May answered.

"Why don't we just check the Granite Cave, that's where he was yesterday according to Brawly's friends" Brendan suggested.

"They did?" May said confused "I don't remember that..."

"That's probably because you were drunk" Brendan said, reminding her of her sin.

"Okay I get it" May replied "I drink a lot. It's a problem that I'll work on...maybe. Anyway, where is this Granite Cave?"

"They said it was at the end of Route 106" Brendan replied "you want to start heading out?"

"Sure let's go" May said as the duo left the pokemon center and stepped out onto the soft sand that covered Dewford. The sun shinnied high above the two trainers in the blue cloudless sky, bathing them in with its warm healthy rays. May looked around. Dewford had a different feel during the day. In the evening, everything was silent and calm, giving the town a relaxing serene feel. In the day, people were awake and full of energy (probably because they got to wake up to such a beautiful area). Shops were open with reggae music booming from them (May could recognize Satisfy My Soul flowing from one of them) and people walked toward Dewford Beach to relax and take in the Hoennian sun's rays. May took a deep breath of the fresh tropical air, a nice combination of the sea and tropical fruits.

"Mmmmm Mmmmm" May mumbled with closed eyes as a look of pleasure came over her face "don't get better than the tropics huh" she said nudging Brendan.

"No I'm sure there's stuff better than the tropics" Brendan replied with a sly smile.

May opened her eyes and frowned "you're a real pain you know."

"I know" he said with a smirk "come let's go."

"Lead the way chamaco" May said as she followed Brendan out of Dewford and toward Route 106.

* * *

**15 Minutes Later...**

May and Brendan finally reached Route 106. Route 106 was a beach, but very different from any May or Brendan had ever seen. Why? Because it was absolutely gorgeous is why. The sand here was almost blindingly white and as smooth as silk. The shoreline receded slightly inland creating a curve on the beach bringing the tree line very close to the water, so much so that some palm trees sloped over the seawater at an angle. The water here was shallow and clear as well, allowing people to wade through. Farther at the end was a small rock face.

"Look at all the pretty palm trees!" May squealed as she waded through the shallow knee high water, jumping to touch the leaves of the sloping palm trees "this place is so damn pretty!" May giggled as she continued wading through the clear water, carefree as can be. Brendan smiled, May was an interesting individual. She could be serious and somewhat scary at times, yet cheerful and giddy at others. He especially loved when she let her blithe disposition toward life emerge when she felt safe and secure in her surroundings, it exposed a side of her that was cheerful and innocent. He was sometimes envious of her way of just jumping into things without a care for consequences, while he on the other hand was more timid and anxious.

"Come in the water with me!" May said, making hand motions for him to come with her "it feels nice and cool."

"Okay" Brendan muttered as he stepped into the shallow water.

"Feels nice right?"

"Sure does" he chuckled as the cool water eased his hot skin.

"Now where would that cave be?" May muttered as she put her hand over her eyes so she could peer farther without the sun irritating her eyes.

"You find excitement in things as simple as water don't you" Brendan remarked as he felt his trousers become heavier with all the water they were absorbing.

"I find excitement in things that are new to me" May replied, reverting back to her more serious streetwise persona "we didn't have things like this back in Goldenrod, so I'm just trying to take it all in while I can" she turned to face him "life's short you know."

"I hear ya" Brendan replied as he pulled his pants up so some of the water could drain out "make the wrong choices and you're dead."

"If you say so" May replied as she continued to look down Route 106, scrutinizing the rock face for any sign of an opening _"I think I see something..."_

"What do you mean?"

May turned around "What do you mean what do I mean?" May asked.

"When I said if you make the wrong choices you could end up dead, and you said if you say so. What did you mean?" Brendan inquired once again.

"I don't believe we truly have free will" May replied.

"You don't think we have free will?!" Brendan said surprised.

"Yup" May nodded as she went back to inspecting the rock face from a distance.

"So you're saying if I become a wealthy millionaire through my hard work and smart choices, it didn't mean anything because I was destined to become one? Don't you think you're downplaying the human experience just a little?" Brendan asked with a hint of hurt in his voice.

"I didn't say you becoming a millionaire would be unremarkable, I'm just saying it was written in the stars" May replied.

"No May" Brendan said with his voice becoming stern "when you say 'something's written' or 'something's destined' you're basically saying our choices and our lives have no meaning. How can you say we have no meaning?"

"Look Brendan" May said with her voice becoming stern "I have my own reasons for my views."

"Right there!" Brendan said with his voice raising slightly "right there you showed you have free will, you have your own views because you have free will!"

"My views!" May replied with her voice raising as well "were molded by the environment I was born into! Did I choose to be born in a poverty stricken area? No! Did I choose my parents? No! Did I choose to see the negative side of the humanity whenever I looked outside and saw a dead body lying on the street, or some strung out addict half dead in an alley? No! All these factors that came into play to form my views on life were not something I chose! You think just because you _PERCEIVE_ yourself making your own decisions doesn't make it so. We _perceive_ time as going forward, but everything; past, present, and future has already happened!"

"Then what point is there to life then!" Brendan yelled "why not just drop my head into this water here and drown myself? It doesn't matter right? Since it was destined it has no meaning!"

"Just because something is destined, doesn't make it unremarkable" May replied, her voice lowered "you don't know what is going to happen to you, and that's the point. Life's going to throw stuff at you for a reason. If you overcome it or not is written in the universe. All you can do is let it happen, and enjoy what is unknown to you. That's what makes living and being human remarkable. No one can possibly understand why the universe, or god, or whatever you want to call it does things, you just go with it and experience it, embrace your ignorance and you'll be content."

"I just don't see it May..." Brendan said with a lowered hurt voice "I don't want my future being determined already..."

"Then don't think about it!" May said moving closer to him "it's new to YOU and that's what matters. Look, let's just forget all about this okay."

"I can't" Brendan muttered "it happened for a reason right?"

May opened her mouth to say something, but she could not, he got her there. The two stood in the calm water for what seemed like an eternity, both finding some sort of comfort in the cool waves.

"Hey look! it's B-Dude and Cool Azul!"

Both May and Brendan turned toward the voices. It was Boone and Larry. They were drenched, May assumed they had just come back from a surf.

"How you feeling Cool Azul?" Boone asked "you got pretty messed up last night."

"I'm fine" May said trying to sound as cheerful as possible.

"You can thank B-Dude for that" Larry chimed in "he whisked you off to the center when you were babbling on about John Locke and getting drunk..."

"Not to mention you were going to drink sea water" Boone added.

"Jeez I was that fucked up huh, thank you again Brendan" May said turning toward Brendan and smiling, trying to break the schism between the two.

"Don't thank me" Brendan smirked "you would've never drank the sea water cause everything happens for a reason. In this case, something didn't happen for a reason, right?"

_"Son of a...damn that boy!"_

"Yes Brendan, I think you're right. Everything does happen for a reason" she said through gritted teeth.

"Uh are you two in a fight or something?" Boone asked "cause I'm sensing some negative vibes."

Brendan opened his mouth to say something, but May interrupted "no we're fine, we were just heading to the Granite Cave is all."

"WERE heading" Brendan said, emphasizing were "I think I might stay here on the beach, hell I might go for a swim as well. You wouldn't mind right May?" he said with an aggressive tone in his voice.

"Oh of course not" May said with bulging eyes, gritted teeth, clenched fists, and a twitching eyebrow "I wouldn't want to impede on your free will."

"Good" Brendan grumbled as he stormed off toward the sea, taking off his hat and shirt, revealing his muscular body. Even though May was pissed off at him, she couldn't help but stare.

_"Damnit, even though I want to smack him around, he's got me staring..."_

"Are you sure there's nothing going on between you two?" Boone asked once again.

"We're fine" May said again, trying her best to mask the anger on her face and in her voice "he just wants to feel the waves is all."

"Well as long as you two are fine..." Boone drifted off "me and Larry are going to head back to Dewford to get a bite to eat."

"Alright" May started "but before you go, is the Granite Cave inside that rock face?" she said pointing to the towering rock face at the end of the route.

"That rock face is actually a cove" Boone replied "you can't see it fully from this angle, but there's a small opening in the rock face that will lead to the cove. Once you're there, you'll spot another opening on one of the walls of the cove, you wont miss it. Be careful though, the cove has a lot of jagged rocks, and the Granite Cave itself is really dark" he warned.

"Okay, thanks Boone" May thanked with a smile (the best she could muster with all the anger inside of her).

Boone nodded and started down Route 106 in the direction of Dewford. Larry started to follow, but stopped and turned back toward May "Hey uh May" he whispered "last night you said you use to smoke, do you still do it?"

"Sure" May replied "whenever I can get my hands on some."

"Well here" Larry whispered as he handed her a baggy of weed "courtesy of Dewford, it's on the house bromiga."

May's eyes lit up. "Odelay! thanks ese!" she whispered as she put the baggy in her fanny pack.

"We tokers got to look after each other right?" he said playfully hitting her arm "see you around."

"See you around too!" May waved "and thanks again for the uh...care package..." Soon Larry was out of sight, and May turned around and headed toward the cove.

* * *

"Jeez this place is jagged" May muttered as she looked out onto the cove. The cove was crescent shaped, creating a pool of water in the center. The cliff face sloped over most of the cove, shading the area from the sun. The area's that were not submerged were rocky and jagged. One wrong step, and one could be in a very serious situation. On the opposite side of where she was standing was an opening in the cliff face. It was the Granite Cave. May started to carefully traverse through the edged rocks, and toward the opening to the Granite Cave. While she made her trip, her mind went elsewhere.

_"Why does Brendan have to be such an asshole? First he brings up the conversation, then when I speak my mind, he starts acting like a bitch. I didn't say anything wrong...did I? No, I just answered his question! Maybe I should have just kept to myself...What am I saying?! he asked, so I'm going to say what I think! If he gets butt hurt, then it's his problem! But why am I feeling bad? I didn't do anything wrong...is it because I hurt his feelings? Why am I feeling bad over that? Stop feeling bad May, you didn't do anything wrong!...It's no use...I still have a really sad feeling, it's like my insides are knotting up. Damnit Brendan, why did you have to start up that conversation! Wait! what am I saying? It's not his fault he started it up, he was destined to...Ah whatever, I'm still pissed off!_

May finally reached the entrance to the Granite Cave.

_"Hopefully Steven's in here."_

May took a deep breath, rubbed her pendant, and enter the cave.

* * *

Boone was not kidding when he said the cave was dark, it was pitch black! Not only that, but the cave was cold and damp, most likely from water seeping in when high tide came.

_"Shit I can't see anything!" _May thought to herself as she rubbed her arms to keep warm. _"Hold on, I have an idea!" _May pulled out her pokenav and turned it on. The light from the device created a conical stream of light in front of her, just enough so she could walk. Her footsteps echoed adding to the eerie feel of the cave as she went farther in.

_"I don't think anybody's in here" _May thought as she continued into the bowels of the cave, the light becoming fainter the deeper she went.

"This place sure is creepy" she muttered, just as a loud bang came from her side. She gasped and quickly spun the light toward the direction of the disturbance. Revealed before her were two small pokemon. One looked like a small dark purple imp with gemstone eyes. The other was a small four legged pokemon encased in armor. The armored pokemon had slammed his head into one of the walls. The area where the armored pokemon had slammed its head crumbled away, revealing a small stash of gemstones. The imp-like pokemon started to happily munch the gems.

"Awww how cute! They're helping each other out!" May gushed as she pulled out her pokedex. She pointed it first at the imp-like pokemon.

_"Sableye the darkness pokemon. It digs in caves using its sharp claws in search of food-raw gems. A Sableye lurks in darkness and is seen only rarely."_

May pointed the pokedex toward the armored pokemon.

_"Aron the iron armor pokemon. A pokemon that is clad in steel armor. A new suit of armor is made when it evolves. The old, discarded armor is salvaged as metal for making iron products. Known Moves: Metal Claw, Headbutt, Harden, Mud Slap."_

The little armored pokemon moved toward some of the gems. "Sableye!" the imp-like pokemon cried, clawing at Aron's face. The little armored pokemon timidly backed off. This made May mad.

"What's your problem Sableye!" she yelled "Aron's the one who got the gems for you, you should at least give him some!"

"Sable!" Sableye growled as he glared at May with his gemstone eyes, and bared his shark-like teeth.

"Why you free loading mother...Grr I'll show you!" May snarled as she reached for the pokeball containing Torchic. Before May could even unclip the pokeball, a red swirl of energy escaped from one of the other pokeballs on her belt. The red swirl of energy composed itself into Silcoon.

"Wha-Silcoon, what are you doing?" May said confused.

Suddenly, Silcoon started to shine brightly, illuminating the cavern, and making everybody; May, Sableye, and Aron look away. The light soon faded, and all was pitch black, save for the light coming from the pokenav. A soft flapping noise flooded the room.

_"What's that?" _May asked herself as she shined the pokenav toward the flapping noise. What the light revealed almost swept May off her feet. Before her stood a somewhat large butterfly-like pokemon with a large pair of black wings with accents of yellow, red, and blue. He had two black antennae, and a long curled proboscis on his face. He hovered gracefully over the cave floor.

"Beaut!" he cried with arrogance as he showed off his majestic wings.

"Wow..." May gasped "you're so beautiful...uhh..." May realized she didn't know the pokemon's name. She pulled out her pokedex yet again.

_"Beautifly the butterfly pokemon. Its colorfully patterned wings are its most prominent feature. It flies through flower-covered fields collecting pollen. It attacks ferociously when angered. Known Moves: Gust, Stun Spore, String Shot, Poison Sting, Mega Dain."_

"You're so beautiful Beautifly!" May said with beaming sapphire eyes "I can't believe you evolved!"

"Beaut" he said arrogantly as he savored May's complements. _"Who's the best now Torchic? Huh, who's the best? Me that's who! Man I can't wait to show off to that little pain in the ass!"_

"Alright Beautifly, we've got to teach a mean little bastard a lesson about why he shouldn't be a prick, use String Shot!" May yelled.

"Beaut" Beautifly nodded as he uncurled his proboscis, and shot a flurry of sticky threads at Sableye.

"Sableye!" the darkness pokemon grumbled as it dodged the String Shot by jumping onto the ceiling of the cavern. It then started to clamber toward Beautifly with a disturbing grin on its face.

"Use Stun Spore!" May instructed.

Beautifly released a cloud of paralyzing dust from his pores, and directed them toward Sableye by flapping his wings.

"Eye!" Sableye cried as he fell from the ceiling paralyzed.

"Now hit him with your gust!" May cried.

Beautifly began to flap its wings vigorously. The resulting gust of wind sent Sableye spiraling deep into the cave and out of sight.

"That takes care of that" May muttered as she turned toward Beautifly "you did really great, get some rest." May recalled Beautifly and started down the cave.

"Aron!"

May turned around and pointed the pokenav light to the ground where the cry came from. There stood Aron looking up toward May.

"Hey there little guy, I see you're following me" May giggled.

"Ar" Aron replied shaking its head.

"Do you want to travel with me?" she asked.

"Ar" the little pokemon said shyly, shaking its head up and down.

"That's great!" May exclaimed as she pulled out an empty pokeball and knelt down. She placed the pokeball onto the floor next to Aron. Aron slowly walked over toward the red and white sphere, and pressed the button with his head. He was instantly transformed into a swirl of red energy and enclosed into the pokeball. The sphere shook once, twice, thrice...

_Ping_

_"Well well well, looks like I made a new friend"_ May thought to herself smiling. She clipped the pokeball containing her new friend onto her belt, and continued through the cave.

* * *

**5 Minutes Later...**

_"It seems like I've been walking forever. Will this tunnel ever end?"_

Just as May thought this, she saw a faint light at what she assumed was the end of the cave.

_"Thank god!"_ she said in her mind as she strode toward the light that grew brighter the closer she got. She soon found that the light was coming from a larger section of the cave. The source of the light was a small oil lamp sitting next to a man. The man was hunched over picking at the walls of the cave with a chisel. He wore a black suit, and he had gray hair. It seemed that he had not noticed May, his entire focus on his present task.

_"This must be him."_

"Um excuse me" May said, getting the man's attention.

The man stopped what he was doing and turned around "oh hello, I didn't think anybody else would come so deep into the cave...what might your name be?"

"My name's May, I'm here to deliver a letter, you're name's Steven right?" May asked.

"Yes" the man replied as he stood up. May had to look up now because the guy was tall, at least 6'1.

"Oh uh well here's your later" May as she pulled out the letter from her fanny pack, and handed it to him "it's from your dad Mr. Stone, he asked me to bring it to you."

"Thank you May" Steven said kindly as he unfolded the letter. His piercing gray eyes darted from sentence to sentence. When he was finished, he folded the letter and placed it into his pocket. "You're quite the courier, not many people would go through all this trouble just to deliver a letter."

"Thanks" May replied "I try my best."

"You certainly do" Steven replied with a slight smile "you have my gratitude."

"Alrighty then, I guess I should leave you to your uh...work" May said, looking toward the wall he was chiseling.

"What can I say" he chuckled "I love searching for rare stones, it's my passion."

"Well whatever keeps you happy..." May trailed off. She was about to turn and leave, but she noticed Steven giving her the once over.

"What is it?" May asked.

"You're a trainer aren't you?" he simply said, as he looked into her eyes.

"Ummm yes I am" May muttered a little uneasily. _"This guy sure is weird."_

"Hmmmm...interesting..." Steven muttered "you seem to be...very determined."

"Really?" May said with a smile forming onto her face.

Steven nodded "have you thought about taking the pokemon league challenge?"

"I am actually" May replied "that's another reason I came to Dewford."

"I see, have you faced Brawly yet?" he asked.

"Yeah I did, but I lost..." May said as she looked to the ground sheepishly "but I am going to challenge him again, after I train a little more."

"That's good..." Steven replied with a serious tone in his voice (the only tone he seemed to convey) "come on, let's talk outside" he said gesturing for her to follow him. May nodded and followed him out of the Granite Cave. They were soon back on the rocky cove.

"So May, what does your training consist of" Steven asked.

"Oh uh the usual stuff" May said as she tried to keep her balance and the wet rocks "I have my pokemon run around to gain endurance, I let them spare with each other to practice for battles, and I have them practice their evasive maneuvers."

"I see..." Steven said with his thumb on his chin "you train yourself and you pokemon physically...but not mentally."

"What do you mean?" May asked, finally finding her balance.

"All you train for is the physical part of the battle, but you have to understand that pokemon battling is more mental than physical. What good is the body, when the mind controlling it is weak and vulnerable?" Steven said "You need to hone the mental connection between you and your pokemon."

"But I've been told me and my pokemon are in perfect sync" May replied.

"Nothings perfect, there's always room to improve" Steven remarked "If the connection between you and your pokemon was perfect, you would have beat Brawly's gym."

"True..." May mumbled "how do I train myself and my pokemon mentally?" she asked.

"That's up to you" Steven said as he turned around and started to walk out of the cove "I hear Brawly likes to mentally train his pokemon in the Granite Cave, says everything is magnified in there." After those words were said, Steven disappeared out of the cove.

_"Granite Cave..."_

May's thoughts were broken when she felt sea water seep into her shoes. It was high tide.

_"Hmmm...Granite Cave...mental training...high tide...I think I know what Brawly does!"_

An enlightened May turned around and walked back into the cave, the water rising ever so slowly.

* * *

Once again May found herself in the dark cave, the only light came from the sun rays that faintly lit the entrance with a soft light. May unclipped the pokeballs from her belt and released her pokemon.

"Tor!" Torchic chirped happily, but soon became uneasy with the eerie surroundings. He soon tried reverting back to his brave cheerful self once he saw Skitty.

"Skit Skit" Skitty meowed as it rubbed up against May's leg.

Beautifly fluttered around the room trying to show off and get Torchic mad. It did the opposite though, because Torchic chirped happily, congratulating the bug type for its evolution. Aron looked around nervously, shy around the rest of May's pokemon.

"Alright everybody settle down and shut up" May said with a stern voice. Torchic, Skitty, Aron, and Beautifly all stopped what they were doing and turned toward May "right now we're going to start training, but this time instead of our usual routines, we're going to do something else..." as May said this, sea water started to seep into the cave. May's pokemon yelped in concern. May was not fazed. She sat down with crossed legs, letting the cool water surround her behind "come and sit with me my friends."

May's pokemon hesitated, looking at each other wondering if May had gone a little crazy. They shrugged, and sat next to May, with Beautifly perching on May's head, Torchic and Skitty sitting on May's lap, and Aron nestled in between the space made by her crossed legs.

"We're going to condition our minds..." May muttered as she closed her eyes, not making a sound. Her pokemon did the same. Now all that reminded them of reality were the sounds. The swooshing of sea water entering and receding from the cave, and the pitter patter of water droplets hitting rocks were magnified. May's mind began to drift away...

* * *

_'Flashback'_

_12 year old May walked down a rugged unkept sidewalk. The sun beat down on her as she walked down the street leading to her friend Nick's house. Her parents told her if she was going to visit Nick, she had to go during the day because he lived in the most dangerous part of Goldenrod; South Central. He didn't live in an apartment in the city like May, he lived in the neighborhood, a dangerous twisting maze of streets and alleys. Wear the wrong color in the wrong street, and you would get shot. May soon reached his family's run down green house. She opened the one hinged gate, and walked up to the door. Most people locked their doors in Goldenrod, but Nick knew May liked to visit so he left it open during the day. May walked into the house, greeted by the pungent smell of weed and cheap alcohol. Nick was definitely here. She walked to the back of the house and looked outside. There in the backyard was Nick, lifting a weights. She opened the door and headed outside._

_"Hey Nick" May greeted as she walked up to her seventeen year old friend._

_"Hey there May" he grunted as he continued to lift his weights "do your parents know you're over here?" he asked._

_"Yup" May nodded._

_"How's your mom doing anyway?" he asked._

_"She's fine, oh she wanted me to ask you if you can come over and fix the sink. It's acting up again" May replied._

_Nick finished his set and sat up on the weight bench. He was wearing a sleeveless dark gray shirt, blue jeans, and work boots "tell her I'll go tomorrow. So what brings you over here Chiquita?"_

_"Umm...My mom also wanted to ask you...to teach me how to fight..." May answered sheepishly._

_"Oh I see..." Nick muttered scratching his rough beard "why does 'your mom' want me to teach you how to fight?"_

_"Because..." May mumbled kicking at the ground "the kids at school have been bothering me..."_

_"Is that so..." Nick said with a angry expression on his face "who exactly?"_

_"The ones in gangs..."_

_ "Of course" Nick muttered as he got up from the bench and walked past his boxing bag and speed bag, and opened a box "I've been dreading the day you would experience this, I'm just surprised it took so long...here" he said tossing her a pair of boxing gloves._

_May caught them and started to put them on._

_"Not yet" Nick said as he reached back into the box "leave them on the bench."_

_May did as she was told, and placed the boxing gloves on the weight bench. Nick came back holding a pair of punch mitts. He placed them on the bench and turned toward May "poner sus punos."_

_May nodded and clenched her fists tightly and put them in the air, getting in an awkward fighting stance._

_Nick looked at May for a while, observing her fighting pose "...okay, I think I know where to start."_

_"You do?" May asked._

_"Yup" Nick answered as he walked over toward her "first off, you're way to tense. Ease up a little, you don't need your fists balled the entire time, keep them loose."_

_May did as she was told and loosened her fists. May was astounded by the difference it felt to keep her hands loose rather than tightly clenched when in a fighting stance. It felt much less constraing, it felt...free._

_"Big difference huh"_

_"Yeah" May said amazed "my hands feel fluid and free, not all awkward and stiff" she said jabbing at the air enthusiastically._

_"Now let's get your feet nice and loose as well" Nick started "stand on your toes, lift your heels away from the ground."_

_May did as she was told once again, and once again she was amazed by the difference in feeling. When her feet were flat on the ground, she felt as she would not be able to move. Now that she was on her toes, she was jumping all over the place._

_"Another big difference right?" Nick chuckled._

_"It sure is!" May replied jumping around on her toes "what are you going to show me now? Jabs, Uppercuts, crosses?"_

_"Soon enough May" Nick said as he paced back and forth "but to truly excel as a fighter, you need to realize that it's not all about physical prowess. Don't get me wrong, fitness is a big part, but the most important part is here" he said tapping her head "en tu cabeza."_

_"You see" Nick started "If you want to be a good fighter, you need to get rid of your fear of getting beat up or hurt."_

_"How do you do that?" May asked once more._

_"It's varies from person to person" Nick replied "The way I deal with it is by knowing even if someone is going to knock me out, he's getting badly hurt in the process. Now I've never in all my years boxing have met someone who can, but in every match I go in, I have that assurance in the back of my head. You see it's like not caring, why should you care about what happens to you then, you'll just pick yourself up and keep on going. Getting knocked out ain't the end of the world, hell it shows you got room to improve...so you can knock the pendejo who clocked you right back out! You understand what I'm saying esa?"_

_May nodded smiling "I do!"_

_"Good" Nick said smiling as he ruffled her hair "now let's begin with the basic punches..."_

_'End of Flashback'_

* * *

"Skit!" Skitty yelped, bringing May back to reality. The water was now covering her lap. Her pokemon were looking around concerned.

"Just keep calm everyone, this is what we're here for, just trust me."

Her pokemon nodded and closed their eyes again. May closed her eyes once more...

* * *

_'Flashback'_

_WHAM_

_May struck Nick's punching mitt with a left hook._

_WHAM_

_This time she went with a right hook hitting the punching mitt with impressive force._

_"Come on May faster!" Nick yelled from behind the mitt_

_WHAM_

_WHAM_

_May delivered a right jab and a left hook to the midsection, getting the correct punches down._

_"Good!" Nick praised as he angled his left punching mitt downward._

_WHAM_

_May sent a an uppercut straight toward Nick's mitt, almost knocking out of his hand._

_"Keep going, Keep going!"_

_WHAM_

_WHAM_

_WHAM_

_WHAM_

_May delivered all the punches she could. Jabs for when the punching mitts were held straight out with no angle, hooks for when Nick held them to the side, crosses for when he angled them inwards, and finally uppercuts when he pointed them downwards._

_WHAM_

_WHAM_

_Her fists were lightning fast, thanks to Nick's advice two years ago. She had them loose until she threw a punch. As she uncoiled her arm, she clenched her fists leading to devastating results. Suddenly Nick swung his arm like he was delivering a hook with his right mitt. This was her cue, she ducked, and answered with a hook to the left mitt._

_"Good!" Nick praised once again. The training continued._

_WHAM_

_WHAM_

_WHAM_

_WHAM_

_"Ay Wey!" Nick cried_

_WHAM_

_WHAM_

_WHAM_

_"Hey take it easy esa!"_

_May stopped and put her fists down. She realized she had backed her friend into a wall._

_"Oops" May giggled "sorry about that, I just got so into it..."_

_"It's fine" Nick chuckled as he started to pull off his punching mitts "I think that's enough training for today."_

_"Yup" May replied as she wiped sweet from her forehead with her red flannel shirt "I need a drink."_

_Nick tossed her a bottle of water. She started to chug the cool liquid eagerly._

_"You know May, you've come along way in your fighting prowess since you first started...two years ago I believe."_

_"Yup" May nodded as she finished her drink "and it's all thanks to you man."_

_"Give yourself some credit" Nick replied as he pulled out a flask of tequila and started to drink "I'm real proud of you."_

_"Thanks" May said blushing._

_"Just remember what I told you, it's mostly mental."_

_"I will" May said as she pulled off her boxing gloves "I will..."_

_'End of Flashback'_

* * *

"Tor..."

May opened her eyes. The water was gone.

_"Must be low tide"_ May thought to herself.

Torchic, Skitty, and Beautifly jumped off of May and began to stretch, thinking there training session was over.

"We're not done" May told them with a serious face. They looked at her with disbelief. "I know what you're thinking, when will it be over...well I can't tell you. All I can tell you is we'll all know when we're ready."

Her pokemon nodded, and went back to sit with May.

There they sat, at the entrance of the Granite Cave with the sun on their backs. Their eyes were closed, but their ears were opened, listening for when nature told them they were all ready to face Brawly.

**That was a long ass chapter. I hope you like it!**

**Here are some tracks I listened to while writing this.**

**Let's Get Lost by Chet Baker**

**Midlife Crisis by Faith No More**

**La Raza by Kid Frost**

**Satisfy My soul by Bob Marley and the Wailers**

**Humpty Dance by Digital Underground**

**Ya Getz Clowned by the South Central Cartel**


	14. The Boy That God Forgot

**This chapter is going to be different. It will not center around May or Brendan. This chapter will talk a little about Jonathan's history, and explain why he is the way he is. I will make a similar chapter which tells how the Hearts From Hoenn formed and gained their wealth, but that's for later.**

**I'm warning you all now, this chapter will contain child abuse and other themes some may consider offensive. **

** The Boy That God Forgot**

**Sootopolis City 1963**

"Get over here you little shit!"

Seven year old Jonathan's heart beat a mile a minute.

WHIP

An intense stinging pain struck Jonathan's back as his father struck him with a studded belt. The pain brought tears into the boy's eyes, and made him move even faster.

"Wait till I get my hands on you!"

WHIP

The stinging pain was intense, it should have been for a seven year old, but Jonathan was used to it, the proof marked all over his back.

WHIP

Another strike, but it didn't matter to Jonathan, he was about to reach the door…

WHIP

One last painful lash struck the boy as he ran out the door and into sun-bathed Sootopolis City. Jonathan ran down the street.

"You better hope I fall asleep when you come back pendejo! Cause if I'm not, I'm going to beat you senseless!" Jonathan heard his drunken dad slur out. Jonathan just kept on running.

He soon reached an industrial part of the city. This part of the city was actually intended to be an extension of the area where Jonathan already lived. Large factories surrounded by cheap housing projects and tenements for the poor citizens of Sootopolis; the workers and the immigrants. The houses projects were not fully completed, so it became a playground for the urban youth who needed an escape from their oppressive or sometimes empty homes. Jonathan was one of those youths. He ran into a construction site, his safe haven from the horrors of home.

Jonathan liked the construction site. He would always come here when his drunken father's lashings and berating became too much, and just avoiding him wasn't working. he didn't know why, but he felt safe amidst the concrete and rebar. Maybe it was because he felt that his life was much like the construction site. Now it was empty and dull, nothing but frames, concrete, and rebar. But with work and time, it would become a house. A home that would house the struggles and tribulations of a future family. Jonathan liked to imagine he was a part of this future family, to be a part of the childhood experience. To know what love and adoration felt like.

At the site, Jonathan would wonder recover from his wounds and ponder. Why did his dad hate him? Was he just angry because he couldn't find a job in the rough economy…well that's what he heard on T.V, but he really didn't understand what all that meant (being a 7 year old) so he couldn't call this a definite answer. Was it because his dad blamed him for the death of his wife (Jonathan's mom) who died during childbirth? No no, that can't be right. The only way he could hold a grudge on the boy was if he loved his wife, and that man was incapable of loving anyone or anything except his whiskey.

After pondering on why his dad hated him, his young mind began to ask other questions. Why did god allow this to happen? At church he learned that god loved everyone, and that everything happened for a reason. What was the reason for his torment? Did god hate him? Did he do something wrong? Perhaps he did not pray hard enough, yeah that's it! So Jonathan got on his knees and prayed.

"Please god, forgive me for displeasing you and father. Whatever it is I'm doing wrong, I-I'll do my best to fix it."

He had repeated this phrase many times, one for every mark on his back. Yet god never answered him once, and life didn't get any better. Still Jonathan had faith that maybe one day things would change.

After his plea for forgiveness, he sat and just waited for a couple of hours, hoping his father would be knocked out by the whiskey so he could go home and rest in his furniture-less room. He would consider heading over to his friend Juan's house to pass time over there, but Juan's drunken mother did not like him, so there in the construction site he stayed, sitting and fiddling with his thumbs.

"You worthless fucking pokemon, you cost me 100 fucking pokedollars!" came an angry voice from somewhere on the far side of the construction site. Jonathan curiously and stealthily went towards the commotion. He was greeted with the sight of a man in a trench coat and Oakley shades yelling at a small pokemon.

"Ralts…" the little pokemon said softly, feeling ashamed.

"I don't even know why I bought you, you're a fucking waste of space and money" the man said as he started to walk away.

"Ralts" the little pokemon said softly, following the man.

"No!" the man yelled, kicking the little Ralts right on its small torso causing it to topple to the floor.

"I'm abandoning you don't you get it?!" the man yelled some more "I would cap you myself, but that would be a waste of perfectly good bullets now wouldn't it…" the man muttered as he walked away, leaving the small weeping Ralts behind.

Jonathan felt something hard hit his small seven year old heart..._empathy_.

He slowly approached the small weeping pokemon. As Jonathan neared, the Ralts red crest twitched slightly and it slowly stopped weeping. It turned toward Jonathan.

"H-Hey there, I hope he didn't hurt you too bad" Jonathan said softly, holding out his hand.

"Ralts" the little pokemon muttered as it took his hand and picked itself up.

"You know, I don't know what that guy was talking about, you don't seem like a worthless pokemon to me" Jonathan said sweetly with the innocence of a child to cheer Ralts up.

The little pokemon smiled slightly. The crest on its head began to vibrate. It gasped as it sensed all the emotional trauma and scars within the boy. He was just like her.

"I-If you want, you could stick with me if you like, I've always wanted a pokemon…d-do you want to be partners?" he asked.

"Ralts!" the little psychic type said smiling. She had found someone who could understand her pain, she found a friend in Jonathan.

"G-Great!" young Jonathan exclaimed happily. Maybe now life at home would not be so hard now that he had a new friend.

"Come on, let's go home. I'm sure my dad will be asleep by now" Jonathan said.

"Ralts" the little pokemon replied as she followed Jonathan back to the run-down hovel he called his home.

* * *

**4 Days Later…**

"I really like your new pokemon, she's real cool!" Juan said cheerfully.

"Yeah, we've become the best of friends!" Jonathan said happily "I look after her, and she looks after me!"

"Ralts!" the little pokemon agreed.

"If she takes care of you, then how did you get that black eye? Wilbert the school bully again?" Juan smirked.

"No…my dad woke up before me today…" Jonathan said glumly.

"Oh…" Juan replied, feeling bad over his comment "again."

"Yeah" Jonathan said looking to the floor.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to bring it up. I didn't kn-"

"It's alright man, you don't need to apologize" Jonathan said, looking up from the ground.

"Hey do you want to come over to my house? I just caught two water pokemon down by the lake yesterday. I have them kept in a fish tank I found at the dump." Juan asked.

"Won't your mom be mad?" Jonathan asked.

"Nah, she drunk herself to sleep. You don't have to worry about her today" Juan answered.

Jonathan turned to Ralts "do you want to go?"

Ralts nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright let's go!" Juan exclaimed as the trio headed to Juan's house.

They soon arrived at the house.

"Shhh! Be real quiet so you don't wake up my mom" Juan whispered as the group tip-toed past Juan's mom, who was sprawled out on the couch, and headed toward Juan's room. The room was extremely small. It had one mattress which was sprawled on the floor, and a small table with a fish tank on it. The room barely had enough room for the three.

"There they are!" Juan said pointing at the fish tank which contained two water pokemon.

One of the pokemon was a shabby fish pokemon. Its body was light brown with the exception of its tail and fins which were blue.

"Feebas!" it greeted, swimming around the tank excited. It was happy to meet new faces.

The other was a sea-horse like pokemon with a single dorsal fin and a tightly curled tail. It was mostly blue, except for its rigid belly which was tan.

"Those are some pretty cool pokemon" Jonathan commented, observing the water types swimming in the tank.

"Ralts!" Ralts agreed.

"Me and my pokemon are going to train real hard, and one day when we're older, I'm going to be a water type gym leader!" Juan proclaimed.

"Knowing you, you'll easily be the strongest gym leader in all of Hoenn. Especially with those chignon pokemon you caught man" Jonathan said, patting his friends back.

"Thanks man" Juan said, smiling at his friend's comment "hey; maybe you should become a gym leader too! I bet you and Ralts could easily become the best!"

"Gee I don't know…" Jonathan trailed off.

"Ral-Ralts" Ralts said agreeing with Juan.

"See Ralts agrees with me" Juan said trying to persuade his friend "come on, it'll be fun! We both can train together!"

"The thing is, I don't want to put Ralts through battles. She could get hurt."

"Ral-Ralts" Ralts proclaimed as if to say she was not scared of battling.

"Ralts isn't scared, she just needs you man" Juan said.

"I'll think about it…"

"Juan!" a feminine voice yelled from the living room "Juan honey can you get mommy another beer?"

"Sure ma!" Juan yelled back.

"Looks like me and Ralts got to go" Jonathan whispered.

"Yeah, why don't you go out the back door" Juan suggested.

"Alright, later Juan. Thanks for showing us your pokemon" Jonathan said as he and Ralts started toward the back door.

"No problem, see you later man, and you too Ralts"

* * *

**10 Years Later…1973**

Sootopolis had such beautiful nights.

Jonathan sat on a beat up bench on the outskirts of Sootopolis, looking up to the starry sky, with a bottle of whiskey in his hands.

It was a Wednesday. Jonathan had spent most of his day, drinking and smoking weed with an acquaintance of his named Esteban (like most other days except with the occasional street fight). It was a much better alternative than going to school. All his academic accomplishments meant nothing. When he use to go, he would try his best to get straight As. He hoped that this would make his father proud, but it didn't. So slowly, Jonathan stopped caring until his grades went from As, to Cs, to Fs, and finally he stopped going altogether. Besides, what good did it do for him anyway? All it did was shove useless bullshit down his throat so he could regurgitate it back onto some standardized test. Than after getting all the 'precious' schooling, you get a job, raise a family, and go to work almost every single day for the rest of your life to earn a worthless piece of printed paper backed by nothing but Hoenn's nice little arrangement with the Orre Region, the world's biggest exporter of petroleum. Yes you would be fine with breaking your back just so you can keep some rich asshole in luxury, while you pay more for milk and gas. Jonathan was not having it...until he realized there was no escape. Maybe a gun to his head would do the trick...But What about Ralts? She needed a roof over her head, and food in her belly. He couldn't abandon her, he would NEVER abandon her.

So for the time being Jonathan just got drunk and high so the time could pass quicker and he could try and forget about his father's hate for him and the inevitability of him becoming a wage slave to the system, for it was a B.S system guaranteed to collapse in his eyes. But for now, he tried to enjoy the small experiences like looking up at the starry night sky, before all his time was taken busting his ass at a job he hated for a system that was on its way to giving the elite total control, the New World Order (or that's what he called it) the banking cartels that controlled the monetary system.

"Those stars are so beautiful" he muttered as he took a drink from his whiskey bottle.

How bad he felt for those stars. They shined down on the earth, with no one to appreciate them. Everybody was either asleep, getting ready for another day of toil, or had their eyes glued to the cathedral of the state, the television.

Jonathan finished his whiskey, and flung it out of sight. He then pulled out his one pokeball (he kept Ralts in there when he was drinking and smoking with Esteban because he didn't want Ralts to see him partaking in such activities) and let his best friend out.

"Ralts!" she greeted happily.

"Hey there Ralts!" Jonathan slurred out happily picking up Ralts, giving her a hug, and placing her on the bench so she could sit next to him.

"Just look at those stars" Jonathan said looking up to the stars once again.

Ralts looked up towards the stars. Her little eyes beamed, they were beautiful. Like little particles of glitter blanketing the sky.

"Beautiful aren't they"

"Ral!" Ralts nodded.

"It just sucks that they shine their light onto all this" Jonathan said with outstretched arms "this city full of poor people living a sad unfulfilling existence."

Jonathan sighed and looked to the ground glumly "and soon I'll be a part of it."

Ralts looked at her trainer. A pang of sadness hit her heart; she hated to see him sad. She felt that her existence was forcing him to live a life he didn't want. She just wanted him to be happy…She wanted him to do something that would bring his heart joy, and she would happily be by his side…suddenly she remembered a conversation he and his friend had eight years ago. It was something about going on a pokemon journey. That was maybe something he could do! Travel throughout Hoenn, aspiring to be the very best. Maybe if she reminded him of that, he would consider that path…and maybe…just maybe, he'll be happy.

As she pondered this, she caught a glimpse of a discarded newspaper on the ground. She could make out words that read 'Pokemon League'. She leapt from the bench and walked toward the newspaper.

"Where are you going Ralts?" Jonathan asked, looking up from the ground.

Ralts picked up the newspaper and walked toward Jonathan. When she reached him, she held up the newspaper so he could see.

"An ad for chainsaws?" Jonathan said confused.

Ralts turned the newspaper around to see what Jonathan was referring to. Sure enough it was an ad for chainsaws. She turned the page to show him the article talking about the Hoenn League.

"The Hoenn league…Look Ralts, I know you want me to be happy, but I'm not going on some wild journey to become the champion. Yes it would be a much happier and fulfilling alternative than staying in this dump, but at the expense of your well being. You'll be the one battling, and I don't think I can bear seeing you get hurt."

"Ral-Ralts!" Ralts protested, as if to say she wasn't scared of getting a little hurt.

"Sorry the answer is no" Jonathan said sternly.

Ralts opened her mouth to protest some more, but realized she wouldn't get anywhere with him and closed her mouth.

Jonathan picked her up again, and placed her on the bench next to him. They spent the rest of the night staring at the stars.

* * *

**3 Years Later…1976**

Kirlia sat on a couch in a run-down apartment in Sootopolis City. She waited for her partner Jonathan to come home from a hard day of work. While she waited, she focused her psychic energy to look into the future. It was a fun pastime for Kirlia while she was alone in the apartment. Of course she could only see bits and pieces, but it was fun either way…that is until the haunting images started to show up. Although they disturbed her, she was still compelled to watch them.

The images came from perhaps about twenty something years in the future. Flashing images of fire and destruction popped into her mind. Cries of anguish and gunfire rang throughout each image.

Kirlia started to tremble

An image of a girl in a green bandanna running through a devastated street covered with mangled bullet-ridden bodies popped into her mind.

So much blood…

_Jingle Jingle_

Kirlia opened her eyes.

The door knob turned and six feet four, twenty year old Jonathan entered the room.

"Ahhh another satisfying fucking day as a machinist…" Jonathan muttered as he pulled of his work boots and threw them on the floor "oh how I love being greeted by the sound of an alarm clock every fucking morning, reminding me of another day of meaningless labor for a small handful of fucking paper. Just enough so I can pay bills, and buy the groceries, which by the way are rising ever higher in price as our wonderful pokedollar loses more of its value, thanks fed, thanks for your stupid fucking money printing endeavors. Just cause you got the whole world desperate for your dollars, doesn't mean you won't hurt their value in the process!"

Jonathan sighed "this can't be my fucking life…"

Jonathan walked toward the couch, and plopped next to Kirlia "I'm sorry you have to listen to my rants, I'm just…I-I don't even know…"

Kirlia patted him on the back to try and cheer him up.

Jonathan turned toward Kirlia and smiled "thanks for trying to cheer me up" he said rubbing the top of her head, then grabbing a remote and turning on the T.V

"Let's see what the good ol' mass conditioner err I mean television has for us today."

Jonathan flipped through channels, looking for something good to watch.

_"Increase your sexual longevity with the an all new herbal supplement made from the drool of Glo-"_

Jonathan changed the channel.

_"The Hoenn Federal Reserve has announced its fourth round of Quantitative Easing to try and stem the growth of business and stabilize the economy-"_

"A fourth round!" Jonathan shouted "are you fucking kidding me, more fucking inflation! There goes my gas budget!" He changed the channel again.

_"Coalition forces from Hoenn, Kanto, Kalos and Unova have entered the Orreian state of Qari in order to-" _

Jonathan changed the channel once, then sighed and gave up. He just left it on the channel it was on. The commercials kept on rolling.

"_Children of Hoenn, if you're turning ten tomorrow you'll be eligible to receive your first pokemon. Head to your local pokemon center, or pokemon breeder house to receive one of the three starter pokemon of the Hoenn Region. For you plant lovers, you can receive the grass type Treeko! Known for its cool demeanor. For you pyromaniacs, you can receive the fire type Torchic! Known for its super hot fire attacks, and its adorable looks. And last but not least, for you water lovers, you can receive Mudkip! Known for its jolly carefree attitude. Once you've received your pokemon, you can embark on a quest to become champion of the Hoenn region by defeating the gym leaders all across-"_

Jonathan turned off the T.V.

"More mindless bullshit, that's not for us."

Kirlia turned toward Jonathan. His lip trembled; she knew what was wrong with him. He envied all those kids who would start their journeys tomorrow, while he would be in Sootopolis wallowing in misery.

"Kirl-Kirlia" Kirlia said gesturing to the T.V as if to say "why not do what they're doing? Why not be happy like them? It's not too late; you can go on your own journey! And I'll be right by your side. You don't have to be miserable."

Jonathan shook his head "it's late, I think we should both be going to bed" and with that, Jonathan walked into his room, and laid down on his lumpy mattress, not caring to close the door.

Kirlia sighed and crossed her legs and closed her eyes, resting on the couch.

* * *

**3 hours later…**

Kirlia slowly opened her eyes, looking over towards Jonathan's room to see if he was sleeping. He was.

Kirlia slowly got off the couch, and reached under it, pulling out a ragdoll that resembled a Dusklops she had made to practice mock battles.

Using her psychic abilities, she levitated the ragdoll, and propped it up against the wall opposite of her.

She closed her eyes…

She now stood on a sunlit battlefield, with her best friend Jonathan behind her.

_"Ready Gardevoir?" Jonathan asked._

_Gardevoir turned and nodded. She was no longer a Kirlia anymore, but a strong elegant Gardevoir._

_Around the battlefield, crowds cheered on the stands, anxious to see the battle commence._

_On the opposite side stood a dark faceless silhouette, and a Dusklops._

_"This will be a battle between Jonathan and Gardevoir vs. the champion of Hoenn and his Dusklops! Let the battle commence!_

_"Use Shadow Ball" said the faceless and nameless champion._

_Dusklops started massing dark energy into a ball with his two hands._

_"Quick use Double Team!" Jonathan instructed._

_Gardevoir made copies of itself, seven in total._

_Dusklops seeing all the copies became confused and turned toward the faceless silhouette that was the "Hoenn Champion" for instructions._

_"Aim your Shadow Ball at that rock so you can hit all the copies at once."_

_Dusklops nodded and released the Shadow Ball. It struck the rock with force, sending fragments toward Gardevoir._

_"Catch those fragments with your psychic ability!" Jonathan instructed._

_Gardevoir caught all the little rock fragment heading toward her with Psychic. She then sent them flying back toward Dusklops._

BAM BAM

Jonathan sat upright from his bed. A sudden loud noise had woken him. He got off his bed and went into the living room to check on Kirlia, and find out where the noise came from.

He was surprised to see Kirlia standing in the middle of the living room, facing a ragdoll that looked like a Dusklops. On the ground next to Dusklops were his work shoes. It appeared that Kirlia was having some sort of mock battle in her head, and she used her psychic powers to throw his shoes at the ragdoll.

Jonathan smiled. He watched Kirlia standing still, having all the action play out in her head. Even though she lived in this hovel, with little to do but sit around and wait for him to come home, she found a way to keep happy, to keep her spirit up, a way…to keep hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Jonathan started to ponder. Maybe there was something to that whole pokemon journey thing. He thought of the kids who would soon have their own pokemon and embark on their quests. Then he thought of his old friend Juan, who by now was probably on his way to become Hoenn's strongest gym leader. Maybe a pokemon journey wouldn't be that dangerous for Kirlia, and by the looks of it, she wanted to go on one. Not only that, he wanted to as well. Maybe, just maybe…he can finally be happy, a feeling he felt only when he first met his faithful Kirlia when she was a Ralts, and whenever the work day was done, and he headed home…Maybe he didn't have to be a wage slave after all…maybe this journey would help him forget all the negative things that weighed onto his heart and soul. Maybe he would forget his father's abuse, and the fact that Hoenn's system and all other systems were geared to keep the elite rich, and the poor in poverty. Maybe he would forget the artificial demand for Hoenn's pokedollar that Hoenn established by having the Orre region sell its oil in the Hoenn dollar. Maybe he would forget it all on his journey, since all he will be thinking about is where the next road will lead him and Kirlia. All the stress and worry, all the pain and anguish will be no more…

Jonathan went into his room, pulled out a plain black shirt, blue jeans, and a brown trench coat from his closet, and went into the bathroom.

* * *

**30 Minutes Later…**

Jonathan emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered; wearing the clothes he pulled from his closet. He grabbed a duffel bag from his room and walked over to Kirlia, still having the mock battle in her head.

Jonathan tapped her on her shoulder.

Surprised, she opened her eyes and turned around.

"Kirlia?" she said curiously, noticing Jonathan's new attire, and the duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Come on, we're going" Jonathan said smiling.

"Kirlia?" Kirlia asked, wondering what was going on.

"Let's just say you will need to use all that practice from that mock battle you had in your head just now for where we're going."

* * *

**2 Years Later…1978**

"_This is PNN with breaking news. A new Hoenn Champion has been crowned. Jonathan Jimenez and his Gardevoir beat the reigning champion today at on April 29__th__, at 12:37 in the afternoon. Jonathan is the first person to defeat the Hoenn League with one pokemon. Members of the Hoenn League such as the Elite Four, gym leaders, and the previous champion will hold a ceremony for the new champion on May 4__th__…"_

Jonathan stood with his head held high as he gazed upon a portrait of him and Gardevoir inside the Ever Grande City's Hall of Fame, amongst the previous champions. For two years, he and Gardevoir trained and traveled throughout the Hoenn region for this moment. They had become champions. They were now a symbol of Hoenn, the beautiful region that held every moment of their journey in its expansive land. Every bead of sweat, every disheartening loss, every rejoicing victory was imprinted onto its soil, and now on the halls of the Hall of Fame.

"We did this Gardevoir" Jonathan said, turning to Gardevoir standing next to him.

"Look what our friendship has accomplished; now everyone will remember the two friends from Sootopolis, who against all odds became champions.

Gardevoir nodded and continued to gaze at the portrait.

"Congratulation my friend."

Jonathan and Gardevoir turned around.

Jonathan smiled "Juan."

"Remember a long time ago, I said that you and Ralts, well I should say Gardevoir now, could become the best? I was right wasn't I my friends" Juan said smiling.

"Thanks Juan, that means a lot coming from you" Jonathan said smiling.

Juan nodded, and the three continued to gaze at the portrait, recalling their journeys, and how far they have all come.

* * *

**5 Months after the Sootopolis City Disaster (1979)**

"_It's been five months since the public has last seen or heard from Hoenn Champion Jonathan. His whereabouts are unknown, so according to Hoenn League rules, his title as champion will be removed, and a tournament to crown a new champion will be held in two months. And now to the weather…"_ blared a T.V in a run-down motel in Slateport City.

Jonathan stared at the T.V looking at nothing, his mind was elsewhere.

After the events in Sootopolis, he erupted into a tornado of anger and depression. For five months he had gone from city to city, all while hiding his identity. He roamed aimlessly, nothing mattered anymore. His one friend, the most important being in his life, the one being that kept him from putting a gun to his head and letting his blood and brains leak all over his body was gone.

_"Why did this happened?"_ he asked himself _"what did I do to deserve this?"_

For the past five months he has asked himself these questions. At first he didn't have an answer because his mind always went too thoughts of cursing the weather trio, but now he had an answer.

It was god's will.

Why had god let his father beat him all those years? Why had he given him a being to love and cherish, only to have her taken away so violently? It was because god had willed it. God had a plan for him that is why he had tormented him. He tormented him in his early years, until he found something he could love. He let the boy build himself up, believe that his life could get better, that he had a choice. Then he brought the boy down so the boy could finally realize what his purpose was.

That purpose was to be god's hand of death and destruction.

But what did god want him to destroy? What was out there that god had to condition the boy so ruthlessly for the job. Was it the weather trio?

No.

The weather trio had only come because of a natural disaster. Mount Chimney had erupted, disturbing the ancient pokemon. They were only doing what their instincts told them.

So the question was this: Why had Mount Chimney erupted? Was it just a freak occurrence, was that it?

No, nothing happened for no reason.

In nature, when a forest becomes too wild a forest fire is made by the forces of nature to bring balance. Mount Chimney erupted to kill his grip on humanity, to show him that there was a great imbalance in nature that so desperately needed to be annihilated.

It was Hoenn's society… no society _itself._

Society was the great imbalance. It was nothing but a sponge on the earth. It allowed population to grow and grow until all the resources were depleted. It based everything on a worthless piece of paper.

God was not going to allow that. God needed something to show him that society needed to be destroyed. What better than the chaos of a volcanic eruption, and the death of his Gardevoir.

Now Jonathan had nothing to live for except his one true destiny...destroy society and bring balance back to the earth.

Let nature run its course.

Destroy the fiat currency.

Destroy the system.

Destroy the great imbalance.

Then there would be peace, and his destiny would be fulfilled.

**For this chapter, I listened to...**

**Bottom by Tool**


	15. Ain't that a Kick in the Head

** Ain't That a Kick in the Head**

The bright noon sun bathed down onto Brendan as he swam in the clear blue sea with his best friend Mudkip. You would think he would be happy and calm in such a serene setting, but his mind and heart were stressed. He had just gotten into an argument with his friend May earlier. He didn't remember how it started, but all he knew was it hit them both pretty hard. He was hoping a nice dip in the sea would calm him, and it did, but now he was feeling bad. So what if they had differing views? They were friends. They shouldn't let their ways of perceiving life get in the way of their friendship.

Brendan sighed "why did I have to bring that stupid topic up?"

"Mud?" Mudkip asked confused.

"Wha-Oh no I wasn't asking you anything buddy, I was just talking to myself…" Brendan muttered as he drifted with the waves.

"_Why did I have to go off on May like that, that wasn't fair…I don't even know why I started acting like that, I can't hold a grudge….I-I need to apologize, and hopefully she'll accept it….I just hope to god she doesn't send me to dreamland with that right of hers…"_

Brendan took a deep breath "let's head back to the shore Mudkip, we need to go find May."

"Kip" Mudkip agreed as the two swam back to the shore. Once Brendan could feel the soft sand displace under his feet, he recalled Mudkip and walked over to where he discarded his shirt and hat. He brushed the sand of the two pieces of clothing, and went toward the cove in search of May.

* * *

**Back to May…**

_Drip Drip_

The soft patter of water drops hitting the ground was amplified to May. Even though her eyes were closed, she could pinpoint exactly where the sound was coming from. May also heard her pokemon inhaling and exhaling softly, each with their own rhythm. The crashing of the waves in the cove outside permeated through her being. She felt as if the waves were surrounding her, and embracing her. She felt at ease. Her mind was finally clear.

"_So this is what mental training is like…removing mental obstructions and purifying the mind. No wonder Brawly's so laid back yet so tough. His mind is at ease…I think we're ready!"_

May opened her eyes. There she was, sitting cross legged at the entrance to the Granite Cave with her pokemon. Beautifly was perched on her head, while Torchic, Skitty, and Aron were all nestled on her lap. The mental exercise must have worked because just as May's eyes opened, her pokemon's eyes all opened as well.

"Well well, it looks like you all got the feeling as well. I think we're ready!" May proclaimed as she stood up and started to unclip her empty pokeballs "why don't you all stretch out before you have to go back into your pokeballs?"

"Tor Tor!" Torchic chirped as he stretched out, heeding to May's advice. _"Don't mind if I do."_

"Beaut" Beautifly muttered as he flew down next to Torchic and showed off his wings trying to spark envy in the fire type. _"Hey Torcoc-err Torchic, look at my wings! Pretty cool huh." _All Torchic did was congratulate the bug/flying type with a series of friendly chirps, much to Beautifly's annoyance.

"Skit" Skitty meowed greeting May's new Aron with a friendly lick on the steel/rock type's armored face. _"That was a nice exercise wasn't it."_

"Ron" Aron murmured shyly as he squirmed away to hide his face. _"Uhhh sure, great exercise..."_

"Skit?" Skitty said confused. _"What's wrong, did I do something that upset you?"_

May took notice of Aron's action. Before she could reassure the shy pokemon that he didn't need to be shy around his partners, Beautifly and Torchic started to argue.

"Beaut Beaut" Beautifly said to Torchic with a condescending look on his face. _"Yeah, you're a real bundle of crap. I've evolved twice already. You, none! Pa-fucking-thetic!"_

"Tor Torchic!" Torchic chirped angrily. _"Why you arrogant son of a bitch. Just cause you evolved doesn't make you hot shit! You may have become stronger and sprouted pansy wings, but you still ain't better than me!"_ Apparently Beautifly had said something to get the fire type mad.

"Hey break it up you two" May said sternly as she walked up to the two bickering pokemon "we just had an exercise to help clear our mind, and here you go getting each other all riled up. You know we're going to have our rematch with Brawly latter, do you really want me to lose again?"

Both pokemon looked toward the ground in shame and shook their heads."Well stop bickering. You both need to be calm and ready to throw down with Brawly's pokemon."

Both pokemon nodded.

"Good, now apologize to each other" May said "and I want them to be sincere too, no half assed apologies."

"Tor" Torchic said softly, trying his best not to look at Beautifly directly in the eyes. _"Sorry..."_

"Beaut" Beautifly grumbled trying his best not to look at Torchic in the eyes as well. _"Yeah, sorry..."_

May sighed "that's good enough I guess…now I want you to greet Aron, you both haven't given him a proper introduction." Both Torchic and Beautifly nodded and walked over to the shy Aron. "Now you don't have to be shy Aron, these are your partners" May said warmly to the steel/rock type pokemon.

"Tor!" Torchic chirped happily, greeting Aron warmly. _"Hey there Aron, I'm Torchic! Welcome to the team!"_

"Ron" Aron replied, shyly nodding his head. "Uh, I-it's nice to meet you T-Torchic..."

"Beaut" Beautifly greeted with less enthusiasm. _"Hey, I guess you're May's newest pokemon huh...great...welcome to the team..." _Aron once again nodded shyly.

"Good, now that you're all acquainted, it's time to go back into the pokeballs" May said as she recalled her pokemon. She then clipped the pokeballs onto her belt and made her way out of the cave and back onto the rocky cove. May looked out onto the water, it glistened with the sunlight.

"_It must be noon."_

"May!" someone called out. May turned toward the source of the voice. It was none other than Brendan.

"_Oh great, I just cleared my mind of any stress, and here waltz in the source."_

May crossed her arms and looked away _"please just go away so I can go have my gym battle in peace! Please just go away!"_

"May I'm glad I found you" Brendan said out of breath "I-"

"What, here for another smart ass comment?" May grumbled not even looking at Brendan.

"Look May-"

"I don't even want to hear it" May interrupted "just leave me alone so I can have my rematch with Brawly" she said as she started to walk past him. "Wait May" Brendan said as he grabbed May's arm lightly. "Dejame en paz!" May protested, shooting him a glare. Brendan became startled and let go of her. May continued on her way out of the cove. "May please just listen to what I got to say" Brendan pleaded running up to May. "No! Why don't you go look for pokemon or something" May replied as she kept on walking toward the cove's exit. "Aw come on May, I know you can't hold a grudge" Brendan said. May knew he was right, she couldn't hold a grudge.

"_Oh alright, I guess I'll listen to what this prick has to say…"_

May turned around "what?"

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry about that whole business earlier" Brendan said timidly, unsure of how mad May was. If she was really mad, she would probably hit him, and he didn't want that "I shouldn't have gotten all rude and nasty like that. If those are your views, I should respect them. I just want to you know…go back to being friends so we can put this whole thing behind us…" he said as he looked to the ground and fiddled with his thumbs "I really am sorry…"

May looked at him and sighed "…I forgive you."

Brendan immediately perked up "really!? You'll be my friend again!"

"Oh Brendan" May said with a smile "I'm still your friend; you just pissed me off was all."

"Whew thank god" Brendan said as he wiped sweat away from his forehead "that's a load off my chest."

"Me too" May replied "glad we put that behind us" she said kicking at the jagged rocks under her feet softly. The two were silent for a moment, unsure of what to say next.

"So, did you find that Steven guy?" Brendan asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh yeah I did, nice guy…" May replied.

"Well since you've delivered that letter, what's next on the agenda?" Brendan asked.

"Next on the agenda is to deliver the Devon Goods to some Captain named Stern…or something like that, but right now I'm going to go have my rematch with Brawly. Do you want to come with me?" May asked.

"Sure, maybe I'll learn a thing or two from your battle" he replied with a chuckle "but after can we get a bite to eat, I'm hungry."

"Of course, I'm pretty hungry myself" May said as the two made their out of the cove and down Route 106 toward Dewford Town.

* * *

**15 Minutes Later…**

May and Brendan found themselves back in Dewford Square. This time, the town was a little more lively, with people walking to and from their own destinations. May figured it was because noon had come, and more people were awake and carrying out the day's tasks. May and Brendan continued through the square until they reached the entrance to the Dewford Gym.

"Here it is" Brendan said as he turned toward May "you ready?"

May glanced back and flashed him a confident smile "always!"

With that said, May pushed the double doors opened and walked into the gym with Brendan following close behind. On the opposite side of the gym stood the one and only Brawly with his arms crossed.

"Oh look who it is, B-Dude and Cool Azul" Brawly said coolly "I assume you both are here to challenge my gym."

"Not me" Brendan replied "I'm just here to watch."

Brawly nodded and turned to May "so I guess it's time for our rematch huh, you ready?"

"You bet" May replied as she unclipped one of her pokeballs from her belt.

"Okay, let's get this battle started!" Brawly proclaimed as he grabbed a pokeball as well "Go Machop!" Out of Brawly's first pokeball came his powerful Machop. "Machop!" the humanoid fighting type cried as it got into a fighting pose.

"_I remember this one, he was pretty tough, and fast! I got to do something about his speed…"_

"Go Beautifly!" May cried as she released her bug/flying type. "Beaut!" Beautifly cried as he fluttered around the battlefield ready to battle for May.

"Alright Machop, let's start things off with a Bulk Up" Brawly said calmly.

"Chop" Machop mumbled as he tightened his muscles to raise his attack and defense.

"_Here's my chance! I can't use Stun Spore because it will activate his guts ability, so…. Wait I know what to do!"_

"Beautifly use String Shot…on the floor!" May instructed. Beautifly nodded and uncurled his proboscis and shot masses of sticky threads all over the sandy battlefield, making it a white mess of threads and sand.

"_What is May up to?" _Brendan thought to himself. Then suddenly it hit him. "Trying to impair Machop's movement are you" Brawly chuckled "didn't see that coming, but it won't do much, use Vital Throw!"

Machop dug into the sticky thread covered sand to find a rock. Once he finally did, he pulled his hand out and flung a jagged rock toward Beautifly.

"Catch it with String Shot and throw it back!" May instructed.

As it streamed toward him, Beautifly flew out of the rock's way, and shot another sticky thread, catching the rock in midair. He then proceded to spin it around like a sling, and then fling it back towards Machop.

"Dodge it Machop!" Brawly yelled.

Machop tried to get out of the rocks way, but the sticky battlefield slowed Machop down. He couldn't evade the rock in time.

THUD

The rock hit Machop squarely on the forehead, causing him to topple over and fall on his butt.

"Machop get up and give that bug everything you got, Low Kicks and Karate Chops a plenty!" Brawly yelled. "Chop" Machop grumbled through gritted teeth as he rushed Beautifly, ready to pummel him with a storm of kicks and karate chops.

"Start circling him!" May instructed.

Beautifly effortlessly dodged all of Machop's attacks (due to his speed, and Machop's impaired movement) and began to fly around in circles. Machop continued his unsuccessful assault all while trying to keep up with Beautifly's movements.

"_Wait, I know what she's trying to do!" _Brawly thought to himself "Machop stop attacking, and get away from Beautifly!" Brawly yelled, realizing what May was up to. It was too late however, Machop was dizzy and confused from spinning around, and the fatigue of throwing so many attacks at one time.

"Now Beautifly use Gust!" May cried with a triumphant grin on her face. "Beaut" Beautifly said as he began to flap his beautifully patterned wings vigorously, creating a swirling whirlwind of air that barreled toward the confused Machop.

SLAM

"Chop!" Machop cried as the super-effective moved slammed into him, sending him to the ground knocked out.

Brawly gasped "oh no Machop!"

"Wow that was amazing!" Brendan said sincerely, impressed with May's strategic way of battling. "Thanks" May said as she turned her head to give him a nod, and went back to facing Brawly.

"Damn Cool Azul, looks like you have been practicing, this time Machop didn't even get to hurt your pokemon" Brawly complemented. "We have been training" May replied "but not our bodies, our minds."

"I can see that, you and Beautifly look really calm and in tune" Brawly said, noticing May and Beautifly's cool composure.

"Beaut" Beautifly said vainly as he stretched out his wings and small arms to convey 'I didn't even break a sweat'.

"But we can be real in tune just like you two" Brawly said as he pulled out his next pokeball "prepare to face the chillest pokemon you'll ever encounter, go Meditite!" Out of Brawly's second pokeball came a short humanoid pokemon that resembled a person meditating. Its coloring was white and blue, and it had a Hershey's Kiss like head. It didn't say anything, it just sat on the battlefield with its legs crossed, silently scrutinizing May and Beautifly.

"That's a new pokemon" May muttered as she (and Brendan) both pulled out their pokedexes, and documented Meditite.

"_Meditite the meditate pokemon. It continually meditates for hours every day. As a result of rigorous and dedicated yoga training, it has tempered its spiritual power so much that it can fly."_

"Pretty interesting" Brendan muttered to himself as he put his pokedex away and resumed watching May and Brawly's match.

"Alright Meditite, use Meditate" Brawly said coolly. Meditite nodded and closed her eyes. She eased her mind and body to raise her attack stat.

"_He's trying to have her set up! Well I'm not going to allow that to happen!"_

"Beautifly use Stun Spore!" May yelled.

Beautifly released a cloud of paralyzing dust from his pores, and spread them towards Meditite by flapping his wings.

"Use Detect" Brawly said calmly.

In the flash of an eye, Meditite nimbly evaded the Stun Pore by barrel rolling away.

"Jeez she's fast!" Brendan commented, amazed at Meditite's speed.

"_Brendan's right, that little pokemon is quick."_

"Meditite use Focus Punch" Brawly instructed.

Meditite nodded and closed her eyes and began to focus all her physical and mental energy into her fists. As each second passed, her fists grew tighter, and her arms grew tenser. May noticed something though. While Meditite was storing energy, it seemed as if she was incapable of moving.

"_Looks like Meditite can't move for the time being. Time to take advantage!"_

"Now use Stun Spore!"

Beautifly did as he was told, and released another cloud of paralyzing dust. This time it hit its target and paralyzed Meditite. However, it didn't seem to faze the fighting/psychic type.

"Now use Focus Punch!" Brawly cried. Meditite opened her eyes. Despite being paralyzed, she leapt into the air and delivered a mighty punch right onto Beautifly's face, damaging and bruising the butterfly pokemon badly, as well as humbling the vain pokemon. Beautifly fell to the sandy battlefield with a thud, and a shower of sand flying out from the impact.

"Beautifly are you okay!" May cried with concern in her voice.

"Beaut…" the butterfly pokemon muttered as it struggled to get back in the air.

"_Come on Beautifly you can do it!" _Brendan cheered in his mind _"you can do it!"_

"Come on Beautifly, I know you still got fight in you!" May said, trying her best to rally her pokemon back into action.

"Use High Jump Kick" Brawly said calmly with his arms crossed.

Meditite sprang onto her feet and started to run, staggering along the way due to her paralysis.

"Please Beautifly, don't give up!"

Beautifly looked toward May. He wasn't going to let her down. He was going to show her he was her best pokemon. He gathered up all his strength and got back into the air, just narrowly avoiding Meditite's attack. Meditite hit the ground with force, dealing damage to herself.

"You did it!" May praised.

"I knew he could do it!" Brendan praised as well.

The injured bug/flying type nodded and fluttered around the battlefield, waiting for directions from May. "Use Mega Drain so you can get some of that HP back" May instructed. Beautifly closed his eyes and focused all of his mental energy in sapping Meditite's health.

"Tite!" the already injured Meditite cried out as she was damaged further.

"Quick use Confusion!" Brawly yelled.

Meditite quickly regained its composure and launched a mental attack on beautifly by closing her eyes and using her tempered mind and soul to manifest itself into a damage dealing psychic force.

"Beaut!" Beautify cried in pain as the mental attack hit him.

"Hang in there Beautifly" May gasped as she noticed Beautifly start to fly awkwardly. The attack not only hurt him, but confused him as well.

"_Shit, this isn't good!"_

"Try using Mega Drain!" May cried desperately. Beautifly tried to perform the attack, but hurt himself in his confusion instead.

"Use High Jump Kick!" Brawly yelled.

Once again Meditite staggered toward Beautifly ready to deliver a powerful jumping kick.

May gritted her teeth _"shit shit!"_

"Keep calm May!" Brendan cried out "you're only making the situation worse if you get all worked up!"

"_He's right, I need to keep calm. Beautifly is picking up on my tension. Just remember how you were in the Granite Cave… "_

Meditite drew closer.

May closed her eyes and took in a deep breath _"keep it nice and cool…everything's fine, just keep it cool…."_

Meditite leapt into the air.

May remembered the water from the high tide surrounding her and her pokemon. _"Everything is going to be fine just trust me…"_

"Dodge it Beautifly" May said simply with her eyes closed.

Beautifly heard this and felt May's eased emotions. This calmed him. Despite his confusion, Beautifly with the help of May's emotions (and Meditite's paralysis), he dodged Meditite's oncoming attack completely. "Tite!" Meditite cried in pain as once again she hit the ground and did damage to herself.

"Good job Beautifly" May complemented as Beautifly shook his head wildly to get rid of his confusion. "Finish things off with Gust" May instructed.

Wasting no time, Beautifly flapped his wings, creating a powerful whirlwind that struck Meditite with force.

"Tite…" Meditite mumbled as she landed at Brawly's feet with swirls in her eyes. She was knocked out.

"Return Meditite, you did great out there" Brawly said with a smile as he recalled his fighting/psychic type.

"Great job May...and Beautifly!" Brendan praised.

"Good job Beautifly" May said as she pulled out his pokeball and recalled him "you did excellent out there, get some well deserved rest."

Brawly and May pulled out their next pokeballs.

"Once again you have me bringing out Lil' Bro. I got to say, not many people have done that" Brawly said with a smile as he threw his pokeball up and caught it with one hand "but as I recall, this is as far as you got last time."

"Well this time isn't last time" May said with a sly smile "come on out little vato!"

May threw her pokeball and out came her little vato…Torchic!

"Tor!" Torchic chirped, ready to battle.

"Come out Lil' Bro!" Brawly yelled as he threw his pokeball and out came his Makuhita.

"I need to document that one" Brendan muttered, referring to Makuhita as he pulled out his pokedex and documented Makuhita.

"Alright little vato, let's start things off with Focus Energy" May said calmly. Torchic nodded and closed his eyes and tightened his focus to heighten his critical hit ratio.

"Use Bulk Up" Brawly said with an unperturbed voice. Makuhita nodded and flexed his bulging muscles, tightening them to raise his attack and defense.

" Use Growl little vato" May instructed. Torchic did as he was told and let out a sharp growl from the bottom of his tiny throat. Makuhita's attack lowered.

"Use Vital Throw!" Brawly yelled. Makuhita dug into the sand battlefield and pulled out a rock to fling at Torchic.

"Dodge it and use Ember!" Torchic nimbly jumped out of the rock's way, and opened his mouth to release a barrage of fiery projectiles at Makuhita. "Kuhita!" Makuhita cried as the Ember struck him hard.

"Get em back with a Sand Attack Lil' Bro!" Brawly cried. Makuhita nodded and cupped his hands to sweep a fistful of sand into Torchic's eyes. "Tor!" Torchic cried as the particles of san hit him, stinging his eyes and disrupting his vision.

"Use Ember Torchic!" May instructed. Torchic nodded, and tried his best to aim the barrage of fire at Makuhita.

"Dodge and use Arm Thrust!" Brawly cried. Makuhita dodged Torchic's attack and charged toward the little fire type.

"_Wait for it…"_

Torchic shook his head wildly to try and shake the sand out of his eyes. Makuhita drew closer…

"Calm down little vato, just listen to my words" May said, reassuring the chick pokemon. Torchic stopped flailing about as Makuhita got even closer.

"_Wait for it…"_

Makuhita started to thrust his fist.

"Use Peck now!" May cried.

Once Torchic hear May, he slammed his beak onto Makuhita's tummy, just as Makuhita swung his fist onto Torchic's torso. Both pokemon were sent back to their respective trainers.

"Little vato are you alright?" May asked, running over to her injured fire type.

"You okay Lil' Bro?" Brawly asked as he ran toward his fighting type.

Before either trainer could reach their pokemon, they both started to shine brightly. Everybody in the room had to look away as the combined light of both pokemon was almost blinding. After a few seconds, the light dimmed, and two entirely different pokemon stood where Torchic and Makuhita once laid.

"Combusken!" cried the pokemon that stood where Torchic should have been. This new pokemon was a short bipedal chicken-like pokemon with an upperbody covered with yellow feathers, and a lower body covered with orange feathers. On each arm were three razor sharp claws. He had well developed legs with three talons on the end of each leg. He also had a beak and three orange plumes on the top of his head.

"Hariyama!" bellowed the pokemon standing where Makuhita should have been. This pokemon was huge and bulky. He had a V-shaped crest on his head, and an orange semicircular pattern on his abdomen. His most distinguishing feature was the two large three fingered hands on the end of his arms.

"Wow two evolutions at one time!" Brendan said excited as he pulled out his pokedex to document May and Brawly's pokemon.

_"Combusken the young fowl pokemon. It lashes out with 10 kicks per second. Its strong fighting instinct compels it to keep up its offensive until the opponent gives up. Known Moves: Ember, Scratch, Growl, Focus Energy, Peck, Double Kick."_

"Pretty cool" Brendan muttered as he pointed the pokedex toward Hariyama next.

_"Hariyama the arm thrust pokemon. It has the habit of challenging others without hesitation to tests of strength. It's been known to stand on train tracks and stop trains using forearm thrusts."_

"Odelay little vato you evolved!" May praised as she looked onto her newly evolved Combusken with happy beaming eyes.

"Busken!" Combusken said proudly, showing off its large claws.

"You look so strong little vato!" May said as she gave Combusken a tight hug.

"Busken!"

"Wow you finally evolved Lil' Bro...well, I should call you Big Bro now hehe" Brawly chuckled as he patted his large Hariyama's back.

"Yama" Hariyama said happily.

"Alright, now this is going to be an interesting battle" Brawly said, turning toward May "our newly evolved pokemon going head to head, you ready?"

"Sure am, are you ready little vato?" May asked.

"Busken!" Combusken cried jumping onto the sandy battlefield and sharpening his claws on each other.

"You ready Big Bro?" Brawly asked, turning toward Hariyama.

"Yama" Hariyama nodded as he lumbered onto the battlefield.

Both pokemon stared at each other through stern eyes, sizing each other up.

"Okay Big Bro, use Bulk Up!"Brawly instructed. Hariyama inhaled deeply to tighten his muscles and raise his attack and defense. The giant pokemon looked even larger with its body puffed up.

"Use Ember little vato!" May instructed. Combusken nodded and shot a searing swarm of fiery projectiles at Hariyama.

"Block the fire with your hands!" Brawly yelled. Hariyama lifted his mighty hands in front of his face and body to protect them from the Ember. The fire landed harmlessly on the large pokemon's hand doing no damage.

_"Damn those hands are a problem, looks like Combusken's Ember isn't going to work against Hariyama..."_

"Use Arm Thrust!" Brawly yelled. In an instant Hariyama charged at Combusken with intent to ravage the young fowl pokemon with his massive heft.

"Charge right back at him!" May yelled. With no fear in his heart, Combusken charged at the much larger pokemon. Closer and closer they got. Once Combusken was in striking distance, Hariyama started to swing his massive arm.

"Quick duck little vato!" May cried. Before Hariyama could land his massive hand onto Combusken, the fire/fighting type slid under Hariyama's hand. "Let loose with Pecks and Scratches!" May yelled. Combusken was immediately on the assault. The young fowl lacerated and pierced Hariyama's torso with a series of quick scratches and jabs from his large claws and sharp beak. "Yama!" Hariyama cried as he felt the excruciating pain from Combusken's ruthless assault. He waited desperately for another command by Brawly to get him out of this situation.

"He's close, use Smelling Salt to crush him!" Brawly yelled. Hariyama swung his massive arms to his sides, and got ready to slam them together with Combusken in between.

"Jump out of there!" May yelled. Combusken jumped out of Hariyama's hands way before they could slam together with him inside.

_"That was a close one!"_

"Arm Thrust now!"

WHAM

Hariyama swung his gargantuan hand onto Combusken, sending the fire/fighting type flying back.

May gasped "you alright little vato?" Combusken got back onto his feet and nodded "Busken."

"Tackle him Hariyama!" Brawly yelled. Hariyama wasted no time and lunged his massive body toward Combusken.

"Use Double Kick little vato!" May cried.

WHAM

Combusken struck the massive pokemon right on his stomach with a powerful clawed foot.

WHAM

In an instant Combusken threw another powerful kick right onto Hariyama's face.

"Oh no!" Brawly cried.

"Yama..." Hariyama mumbled as he swayed to and fro. After a few seconds, Hariyama fell onto the ground knocked out.

"Damn..." Brawly muttered "you took him out..."

"Odelay We did it!" May proclaimed as she ran over to her Combusken and wrapped him on a tight hug "you were amazing little vato!"

"Busken!" Combusken said happily as he returned May's embrace with a tight hug of hos own.

"That was so awesome!" Brendan praised as he walked over toward May and Combusken "you two were so focused and...awesome!"

May blushed and giggled sweetly "thanks Brendan!"

"Busken!"

"Return Big Bro, you were great" Brawly said as he returned his massive fighting type back into his pokeball. He walked over toward May and Combusken "You two were amazing" he said "the way you lead your pokemon in battle was so...Knarly! You deserve this!" Brawly reached into his pocket and pulled out a gym badge "here you go Cool Azul, you swamped me!"

May grabbed the badge and looked at in the light "Wow..."

"It's the Knuckle Badge, it shows you triumphed the Dewford Gym" Brawly said matter of factly.

"So cool!" May proclaimed as she brought her hand lower to show it to Combusken "look what you, me, and Beautifly earned!"

"Combusken!" the young fowl chirped happily.

"Can I see?" Brendan asked.

"Sure" May replied as she handed it to Brendan so he could see it.

"Wow" he muttered as he gazed at the badge and ran his fingers across its smooth surface "cool..."

"Thanks Brawly, I've learned a lot battling with you" May said sincerely with an adorable smile on her face.

"It was an honor to battle with you too Cool Azul" Brawly replied "with your skill, you could definitely take on the Hoenn Leauge."

"Yeah...you seriously could" Brendan added as he handed May the Knuckle Badge.

"Thanks guys" May said as she took out gym badge case, and placed the Knuckle Badge inside of it. She then placed the gym badge case back into her fanny pack. "Well I guess me and Brendan should be going..."

"Okay but before you go, why don't you heal your pokemon in the back of the gym" Brawly said as he gestured for the two trainers to follow him through a door that lead to the back of the gym.

"Okay" May said as she went through the door. Brendan and Brawly followed close behind.

**5 Minutes Later...**

The trio finished healing their pokemon.

"Well I guess I'll let you two go on your way then, remember to visit Dewford again whenever you have the chance okay" Brawly said as he lead the two teens out of his gym.

"We definitely will" May replied.

"Yeah, say bye to Larry and Boone for us" Brendan waved as he and May walked away.

"Will do" Brawly said as he waved back, then went back into his gym.

"So..." Brendan started "that was a really amazing match."

"Thanks Brendan" May said smiling "I'm glad you were there to cheer me on, it really did help me."

"Oh you would've won without me" Brendan said sheepishly.

"Maybe, maybe not" May replied "but you being there really did help me out, because it's nice to know someone's cheering for you...especially if it's a great guy like you."

"Oh uh...well you know..." Brendan mumbled with a blushing face.

"Hey Brendan, you wanted to get something to eat didn't you?" May asked, not noticing Brendan's blushing face.

"Wha-oh yeah, I'm pretty hungry" he said as he rubbed his tummy.

"There's a seafood place right over there" May said pointing to a small tiki-esque diner that sat in the line of shops that surrounded Dewford Town's square "up for some seafood?"

"Sure I could go for some seafood" Brendan replied as the two entered the diner.

The alluring scent of seafood and good cooking hit both trainers' noses as they walked up to the counter.

"Welcome to the Seafood Shack" greeted the waitress standing on the other side of the counter "a party of two right?"

"Yup" both trainers replied.

"Okay, let me take you too your table" the waitress said as she gestured them to follow her. May and Brendan followed her to a table outside of the shack. They both sat down and the waitress handed them menus.

"Are you two ready to order, or do you need some time?"

"No I'm ready, I think I'll have the shrimp tacos" May replied.

The waitress nodded and turned toward Brendan "how about you young sir? Are you ready to order, or do you need more time?"

"I'll have the shrimp scampi" Brendan replied.

"Okay I'll be back with your food" the waitress said with a smile as she walked away.

"So May, after you deliver the Devon Goods to this Captain Stern guy, where will you go?" Brendan asked.

May shrugged her shoulders "I don't know, I'll probably just keep going down the road until I find the next gym."

"You haven't made any plans?" Brendan asked.

"No" May answered "I don't like making plans. The way I see it, you make plans so you can regulate and direct what you are going to do and see before you get to your destination, and I think that's pretty dull. It's much more fun to just head somewhere without having a plan or any knowledge on the place because everything's new and you have no clue what's going to happen to you."

"What if your not ready for what is thrown at you?" Brendan asked once more.

"I don't know" May replied "but I'll think of something, I always do."

"Fair enough" Brendan said as the two continued to wait for their food in silence. As they waited, Brendan's eyes slowly went down toward May's pendant which was nestled on her chest.

_"Never seen that before"_ Brendan thought to himself (which was interesting because he had spent quite some time staring at May's bosom before, even though it was subconsciously) as he gazed at the pendant. It was a peculiar thing. It was made out of jade, and it had a carving of some sort of serpentine pokemon in the center.

"Uhhh Brendan, what are you staring at?"

"You're pendant" Brendan replied as he looked up to face May "what else would I be looking at?"

"Oh that!" May exclaimed a little embarrassed "I just thought you were...you know...looking..."

Brendan thought about it for awhile then his eyes lit up with realization "Oh you thought I was looking at your...Oh no I-I wouldn't do that (lie) I was just looking at your pendant because I've never seen it before."

"Y-Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking" May chuckled nervously as she took off her pendant to show it to Brendan "I got this pendant a few days ago when we first started travelling around Hoenn, I can't believe you never noticed it."

"Well it's not like I'm looking at your chest all the time" Brendan chuckled (again another lie).

"Yeah sure" May muttered.

"So what is it?" Brendan asked, having not heard May's last comment.

"My mom said it is a keepsake passed down by all the female's on her side of the family" May said as she handed him the pendant "She said the drawing is of some pokemon my ancestors worshipped as a god. She also said that this pendant will give me the courage of the pokemon on the carving as long as I have it, but I don't think it really has any supernatural powers or anything like that. I think it's more of a mental thing you know, it's something to fall back on when you're scared."

"Pretty cool" Brendan muttered as he eyed the pendant curiously and handed it back "I wish I had something like that."

"Why?" May said with a mischievous grin as she tied the pendant back around her neck "what do you need courage for, girl problems?"

"N-No!" Brendan protested as his cheeks flustered a deep shade of red.

"You do!" May giggled "I bet you met her on Route 102 while I was off in Rustboro!"

"No, I didn't meet anyone, I swear!"

"Yeah right" May said skeptically "that's why you're blushing like a tomato. C'mon you can tell me about her, what does she look like?" May asked nosily.

"I didn't meet any girl!" Brendan protested.

Before May could persist with her accusations, the waitress came back with their meals. "I hope you enjoy it!" she said cheerfully as she walked away.

"Mmmmm Mmmmm, this is good" May said after she took a bite into one of her shrimp tacos.

"You can say that again" Brendan agreed as he took a mouthful of pasta from his shrimp scampi.

* * *

**30 Minutes Later...**

May and Brendan finished their food and soon found themselves heading back toward the pier and Mr. Briney's boat.

"Thanks for paying for the meal" May thanked "I don't know why you did it though, I told you I could help pay for the meal."

"You keep your money so you can buy something nice for yourself" Brendan replied with a smile "besides, what are friends for!"

May chuckled "well thanks again."

"No problem."

They continued to walk until they reached Mr. Briney's boat. Mr. Briney himself was sitting on a leisure chair and sun tanning with swim trunks and an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt on. This sight made May giggle.

"Wingull" Peeko squawked from the sky as he spotted May and Brendan.

Mr. Briney sat up as Peeko perched onto his shoulder "You two are back!" he said happily "I guess your business here is done."

"Sure is" May replied.

"Well I guess it's off to Slateport then!" the seafaring old man proclaimed as he leapt off his chair and went into the navigation quarters to start up the boat.

"It's a long way to Slateport" May yawned as she stretched languidly "I'm going to take a nap." With that said, May got onto the one bench on the boat's deck, and curled up to go to sleep.

"I'll wake you when we get there" Brendan said as he leaned on the boat to watch the waves roll past as Dewford became smaller and smaller until it was out of sight "Next stop Slateport."

**Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been busy. I hope you enjoyed it.**


	16. Slateport City

**Slateport City**

_1:20, Lilycove City. Hearts From Hoenn Headquarters. Vehicle Depot._

"My my, what a beautiful machine" Jonathan muttered as he gazed upon a massive streamlined electromagnetic projectile launcher situated on the back of a military grade semi.

"Amazing what massive profits and a government blind eye can create huh" Admin Esteban chuckled as he nudged Jonathan's arm "and we got five more ready to deploy."

"Good" Jonathan said with approval "soon..."

"With all due respect jefe, why wait?" Esteban asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean" Esteban started "is why are we waiting to complete the mission? We have the money and the manpower. We've got these massive railguns, why not wake the two beasts up ourselves?" Esteban asked once more "remember back in the good old trafficking days, we didn't wait to do something. When business needed to get handled, we handled it. Why not now?"

"I love the enthusiasm my friend" Jonathan said patting Esteban's shoulder "you've always been my most loyal ese, but you got to understand this business we have here is much different than the trafficking game. Back then, all we needed to do was make money. To make money in that line of work, we needed to take action whenever we could. But that was just a small part of the plan. We're past that now. Now we have this business. This business only requires us to look nice and friendly for all the mareeple. With them blissfully ignorant, we can do whatever we want! Direct action would compromise the nice deal we got here, we got to bide our time until the time is right."

"True..." Esteban nodded.

"Besides" Jonathan added "Why go the extra mile when we got two groups of misguided idiots to do our dirty work for us!"

* * *

_"Oh my god!" May cried as she saw her best friend get pinned down._

_"Ah damnit, get off!" Nick cried as the pokemon mounting him opened its jaws and planted its sharp teeth onto the boxer's right hand._

_"Ahhhhh!" Nick shrieked as the pokemon started to flail his head wildly. May could only watch in horror as the pokemon ripped the skin, sinew, and bone inside her best friends hand._

_"Look away May, look away!"_

_May couldn't look away. Her eyes were frozen in shock at the scene unfolding before her._

_"It's all my fault..."_

* * *

**Back to May and Brendan...**

_4:25 Route 109, Mr. Briney's boat. Nearing Slateport City._

"May are you okay?!"

May gasped as she opened her eyes and sat up. She was sweaty and trembling all over. She looked around and saw she was on Mr. Briney's boat, late noon sun high above her head. Footsteps approached her.

"May what's wrong!?" Brendan asked concerned as he kneeled down to rub her back "you're shaking like crazy!"

"I-I-I uhhh oh g-god" May stammered as she gazed upon her trembling hands, it reminded her of the dream.

"May look at me" Brendan said with worry in his voice as he cupped her face softly in his hands and looked her in the eye "what's wrong, you look like you've just seen a ghost."

"I-I think I did" May muttered as she took a few deep breaths "I'm fine, just a bad dream."

"That was some dream then" Brendan chuckled anxiously "are you sure you're okay."

May nodded and gave him a slight smile as she patted his large mitts that cupped her face delicately "I think I just need to clear my head is all."

Brendan nodded and let her go. She got up from the bench she was sleeping on, and leaned on the railing of the boat's deck, watching the waves roll by. _"Why did you have to die..."_

"May are you sure you're okay?" Brendan asked as he walked over toward her and patting her back "you kept muttering something while you were sleeping, I just couldn't make out what it was."

"I'll be fine Brendan" May assured him "It's just...Ah nothing, it was just a bad dream. Don't concern yourself with it."

"Well as long as you're okay..." Brendan muttered as he looked out onto the sea.

"Alright you kids Slateport is in sight, prepare to disembark!" Mr. Briney yelled from the navigation quarters of the ship.

May and Brendan turned around and went to the left side of the deck and looked forward. What they saw was a long shoreline with a massive city in the distance. It was Slateport.

"Wow Slateport is big" May observed as the boat got closer and closer to the shore "I don't know how I'm going to find Captain Stern..."

"You'll think of something" Brendan reassured her "like you said, you always do."

Closer and closer they got. May could now make out Slateport more clearly. The beach was filled with people trying to catch the last rays of sun, and kids frolicking in the waves. In the distance she could see a large lighthouse, and behind it the urban sprawl of Slateport. The boat soon anchored near the shore, and the two trainers stepped off the boat.

"Thank you Mr. Briney, you've helped us greatly" May thanked.

"Yeah it's been a real pleasure travelling with you" Brendan added.

"Oh it's the least I could do to thank you for saving my darling Peeko" Mr. Briney replied smiling.

"Wingull!" Peeko cawed.

"I'll miss you too" May giggled.

"Well I'm gonna head back to my cottage. Good luck on your journey you two, and stay safe" and with that, Mr. Briney turned his boat around and headed to his cottage on Route 104.

"Well let's get moving" Brendan told May.

"Let's" May replied as the two trudged through the occupied beach "pretty beach, too bad we don't have time for it" she muttered.

"I think it's all for the best" Brendan mumbled as he saw May getting checked out and whistles from some of the teenage boys on the beach. May noticed this as well and giggled "you boys are so cute, whistling at any pretty girl you come across huh" she told Brendan.

"Not me, I'm not doing it" Brendan replied.

"I bet you would if you didn't know me, and if you were in their shoes" May replied.

"Maybe, but we will never know now will we" Brendan said.

"Fair enough" May replied as the two finally made their way off the beach and into the city

"Oh my god, this place is huge!" Brendan said in awe of the giant city.

"And crowded" May added not so enthusiastically. Slateport was like a mix of the cities May had seen (only much bigger!) and Dewford Town. There were some tall buildings, but the inner sprawl was mostly inhabited by residential settlements. On the coastal edges of the urban city were yards and yards of docks, wharfs, and fisheries. One big defining part of the city was its huge outdoor marketplace where it was claimed that there were _unique items found nowhere else! _Within the marketplace. Palm trees sprouted from the sidewalks and enclosed areas to add the seaside feel to the coastal community.

"Hey Brendan, do you think I have time to visit the marketplace?" May asked.

"If you want to I guess, but evening is coming pretty quickly..." Brendan replied.

"You're right, it will take too long, besides I'm not a shopper. Well I'm going to go find the shipyard; you want to come with me?" May asked.

"No I'm going to explore the city a little, how bout we meet back at the pokemon center when you're done" Brendan suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, see you later" May said as she started down the street looking for the shipyard

"Good Luck May!"

May continued down the streets of the eastern part of the city. This city she could tell was poorer than the rest of Slateport. The streets were cracked and dirty, and the houses and buildings were beat up. Despite this though, the people here were jolly and happy. They played jaunty seafaring music on the corner of the streets, and kids played on the sidewalks and streets without fear of any danger. This puzzled May, because she knew poorer areas were more susceptible to crime, and she was sure she had seen pairs of shoes hanging on telephone wires signaling a drug house, or the commemoration of a shooting or murder (like in Goldenrod), yet everyone was happy. She reached a building near the ocean with boats docked around it that had a sign that read 'Slateport Shipyard' and entered.

* * *

The inside of the building was dark and had a 1900s non regulated industrial feel to it. The sunlight barely came through the thick dirty windows, to May it looked like one of those places in a horror movie were the serial killer ambushes the naïve unsuspecting young girl.

"This place is giving me the creeps" she thought to herself as she searched for someone inside the building. Finally she found a man, illuminated only by a desk light on top of well…his desk. He was looking at blueprints with a frustrated face.

"So where does this part go….and this part?" he muttered to himself.

"Ummm hello, are you Captain Stern?" May asked.

"Wha-hey what are you doing here?! You're not supposed to be in here!" he yelled angrily as he stood up from the chair he was sitting on "get out now!"

"Hey take it easy, I've been sent here to deliver a package to Captain Stern" May replied, pulling out the Devon Goods from her fanny pack.

"Oh…sorry about yelling at you, I'm just a little frustrated with these blueprints is all, and to answer your question, no I'm not Captain Stern, I'm his assistant" the man replied sitting back done with a much more eased body.

"Oh well do you know where he is" May asked.

"No I'm not sure where he is, I suggest you look over at the Slateport Harbor" the man suggested.

"Can you tell me where the harbor is?" she asked.

"Oh yeah it's up north from here" the man replied "old Stern is usually over there getting ready for his undersea excursions for the Hearts From Hoenn company."

"Really" May said intrigued "I've been hearing a lot about them, what's he doing for them?"

"Some wild goose chase for a source of geothermal energy to power Slateport" the man replied "those assholes over in Mauville take most of the energy from the dam they set up over on the river near Route 110. That city is vile and filth, catering to the immoral and the immature young trainers that head over there to have a good time."

"Why do they go over there?" May asked.

"Mauville is the central hub for all that is fun in Hoenn" the man relpied "alway's been that way. The city is full of arcades, game corners, and other places of leisure. The problem is that damn city uses so much energy, that most of the dam's power is sent to Mauville, so we here in Slateport get rolling blackouts and other fine perks of getting less than half of the dam's power" he grumbled.

"So is that why Captain Stern is looking for geothermal energy?" May asked once more.

The man nodded "yup, but if you ask me, that whole project is B.S. The currents west of here are too damn rapid to go diving underwater let alone looking for sources of geothermal energy. Besides, I think Mauville should start up their old power plant if they need so much power."

"Power plant?" May said curiously.

"New Mauville is what they called it" the man said matter of factly "The Hearts From Hoenn had them shut it down. Said it was a danger to Mauville and the natural environment. Most of Slateport didn't agree with the shut down cause we knew it would cut into our energy supply, but the Hearts From Hoenn has our city by the balls."

"Why is that?" May asked with even more curiosity.

"For a couple of reasons" the man replied "before the Hearts From Hoenn formed, Slateport was the murder capital of Hoenn, drugs were moved in from the harbor by the millions."

"Wow" May exclaimed.

"Traffickers wanted to control these harbors and the drug routes, so we saw a lot of murders and crime over here in Slateport."

_"That's why I saw those shoes on the telephone wires..."_

"But when the Hearts From Hoenn came, they lobbied for the major imported drugs to be legalized" the man continued "ever since we have had lower crime rates."

"Well that was nice of them" May said smiling.

"Yeah they may seem like they're nice guys, but with the experiences I've had, the more someone is trying to put a front of benevolence, the more they have to hide" the man said.

"Huh, ain't that the truth" May replied.

"I'm sorry young lady, I've already taken enough of your time, go ahead and that deliver that package of yours" the man said as he went back to trying to make sense of the blueprints.

"Alright, bye" May waved as she left the shipyard.

* * *

"Alright I guess I should head north" May thought to herself as she started north. Around her As she was walking, she noted the different advertisements lining the bill boards and walls of various buildings.

_"The Devon Corporation presents...the C.H.O.D.E! (changeable hearing output device extraordinaire) an orgasm in your ears!"_

_"Coming soon to Lilycove, The Hoenn Grand Festival: The Woodstock of the pokemon coordinating world! (sponsored by the Hearts From Hoenn)."_

_"Spieldberg Steven Presents...Springtime in Orre, a spellbinding love story about a trainer...and his Eevee."_

_"The Full Restore: Compensating for your mediocre skills as a trainer (a product created and patented by the Hearts From Hoenn)." _

_"The Hearts From Hoenn Slateport-Mauville Dam: Clean power for both cities."_

"God damn, there's ads everywhere" May muttered to herself "commercialism runs rampant in Hoenn...not that Johto was any better..." As she said this, she saw another advertisement.

_"You love the sea don't you? Learn about the cradle of all life by visiting the Oceanic Museum (50 pokedollar fee to enter)." _

_"Hmmm a museum about the ocean...I got to make a mental note to visit there." _May thought to herself as she continued north. Little did she know she would be getting her wish though, because she did come across the Oceanic Museum...and found it crawling with Team Aqua Grunts.

"Oh no, that can't be good" May thought as she started towards Slateport's Oceanic Museum, and entered.

* * *

May was immediately hit with a cool blast of air from the museum's AC.

"Hello young lady are you here to tour the museum?" a receptionist asked from behind a counter.

"Umm sure" May replied.

"Well you'll have to pay a fee of 50 pokedollars like the rest of these fine people" the receptionist replied, gesturing to all the Team Aqua Grunts in the vicinity.

"Okay" May said as she paid the fee and entered the atrium of the museum. All around the pristine atrium were high quality exhibits regarding marine life, and marine travel, and around the exhibits stood Team Aqua grunts. May distanced herself from them and tried to overhear what they were saying. She was only able to hear bits and pieces of their conversations.

"I think he's up there, let's go."

May looked over toward the voices and saw two Team Aqua grunts head up a staircase leading up to another part of the museum. May decided to follow them. The staircase lead to another exhibit area focusing on nautical history. Inside were the two Team Aqua grunts harassing a middle aged man, perhaps in his late thirties, wearing a lab coat.

"Alright Stern, where are the Devon goods, the boss needs it for his plans!" one grunt interrogated, while the other held Captain Stern by his arms.

"I don't know what you hoodlums are talking about, let me go this instant!" he protested.

"I would suggest cooperating before the boss gets here, then you'll be real sorry" said the other grunt.

"Let him go!" May yelled.

Both grunts turned toward her.

"Little girl, YOU need to turn around and leave, grownups are talking" yelled the grunt that was interrogating Captain Stern.

"This is something you don't want to get involved with!" added the one who was pinning him down.

"Yeah, you two are real tough when you've got back up huh" May scoffed "cowards, you both should be ashamed."

"That's it; if you're not going to leave on your own then we'll have to show you out! Go Zubat!" yelled one of the grunts.

"Zubat!" cried a small bat pokemon with

"Go Poochyena!" yelled the other. "Poochyena!" cried the dark type dog. Once May saw the dog, she grew tense.

_"Why'd it have to be another dog..."_

May shook her head to try and comfort herself _"come on May, that isn't the same dog, hell it isn't even as big as...as...oh god I don't even want to remember that." _May shook her head even more _"get it together girl, you need to help the man."_

"Alright, you want a battle, then I'll give you two clowns a battle!" May yelled as she pulled two pokeballs from her belt "Go little vato and Aron!" "Combusken!" cried May's fire type fowl. "Aron!" cried May's newest steel and rock type pokemon.

"Zubat use Supersonic on Combusken!" One of the Aqua grunts yelled. Zubat opened its mouth and released a high frequency sound wave that zoomed toward the fire/fighting type.

"Com…bus…ken" muttered the fire and fighting type with swirly eye, as he swayed trying to keep his balance.

_"Damnit he's confused"_

"Poochyena Tackle Combusken now!" yelled the grunt. Poochyena charged at Combusken.

"Aron protect little vato!" May yelled Aron wasting no time, ran in front of Combusken just as Poochyena came running with his head down.

BAM

Poochyena slammed into Aron, hurting itself more than the little steel type.

"Counter with Metal Claw!" May yelled. Wasting no time, Aron lunged at Poochyena with its shinning forelegs, and lacerated the dark type with his metallic front legs. "Pooch!" Poochena cried as is reeled back from the force of the attack.

"Zubat Supersonic now!" The other grunt yelled. Zubat released another high frequency wave, this time confusing Aron.

_"Damn now both of my pokemon are confused!"_

"Ha ha, now both of your pokemon are confused! You should give up now little girl, and save your pokemon from a beating!"

May gritted her teeth "Not a chance, they'll pull through! Combusken use Ember on Zubat!" Combusken still confused, managed to hurt itself.

The grunts burst out laughing.

"T-That wasn't supposed to happen" May said rather embarrassed.

"Zubat, Let's take out that stupid Combusken with Wing Attack" scoffed one of the grunts. Zubat glided toward Combusken.

"Aron cover Combusken, use Headbutt on Zubat!" May instructed. Aron still confused, managed to lunge headfirst towards Zubat.

"Dodge Zubat!" the grunt yelled. Zubat flew to the side and evaded Aron's attack.

"Let's get Aron out of the picture, Poochyena use Bite!" The other grunt yelled. "Use Wing attack on Aron Zubat!" the second grunt cried. Both Poochyena and Zubat approached Aron.

"Aron use Mud Slap on Poochyena so he can lose some accuracy!" May cried. Aron did not listen. Being confused and seeing the two pokemon bearing down on him terrified the timid pokemon. Instead it used Harden, while the two pokemon attacked him.

"Oh no Aron!" May cried fearing for Aron "Combusken I really need you right now, please snap out of it!" May pleaded. Combusken shook its head to snap itself out of confusion. "That's the spirit Combusken, now use Ember on that Zubat!" May instructed. Combusken exhaled a swarm of fiery projectiles that hit Zubat with force, knocking the bat pokemon out.

"Oh no Zubat!" the grunt cried recalling his pokemon. "I'm out of the battle, it's all up to you now" he said to the other grunt.

"Don't worry, I won't lose to no little girl, Poochyena Tackle Combusken NOW!" Poochyena charged at Combusken.

"Now Combusken, use Double Kick!" May yelled.

WHAM

Combusken landed a kick right onto the oncoming Poochyena's snout.

WHAM

Another kick sent the little dark type skidding back to the Team Aqua grunt.

"Return Poochyena" the grunt said, recalling his pokemon.

May wiped the sweat off her forehead with her arm _"Whew, glad that dog is gone"_

"Good job guys, return" May said as she recalled her pokemon.

"I can't believe we lost to a kid…" said one of the grunts meekly.

"Yeah, the boss is gonna be pissed."

"I guess you're not going to be harassing anybody anytime soon huh"

One of the grunts opened his mouth to reply to May's comment, but was interrupted by a voice coming from the staircase.

"What's taking you two idiots so long!?"

Into the room came a tall muscular man of about six feet, with a thin beard on his face. He wore a black suit and a blue bandanna. "I came to see what was taking so long to snatch parts, and you simps are held up by a mere child?" the man yelled.

"Hey, why does everybody keep calling me a child? I'm fifteen years old!" May said angrily.

The man ignored her, and turned toward the grunts "well what do you two morons have to say for yourselves?"

"She's no regular kid, she's like…like…"

"A really tough kid!" chimed in the other grunt.

Archie turned toward May. "We are Team Aqua, and we love the sea! And I am Team Aqua's leader, Archie!" he proclaimed.

"I didn't ask who you were, but okay"

"Don't act like a smart ass around me kid! Why are you interfering with our plans anyways? Are you part of Team Magma? No you can't be you're not dressed for the part, who are you?"

"To answer your first question, I interfered with your plans because these two assholes…" May pointed toward the two grunts "were harassing this man over here" she pointed to Captain Stern "and to answer your second question, my name is none of your god damn business!"

"Look kid, I know you mean well by trying to protect this man here, but we are doing all this for something greater than him, you, or anyone of us" Archie said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" May asked confused.

"People and life depend on the sea to prosper and grow. Think about it, the first civilizations were built along live giving rivers and the coasts of the mighty seas. Trade and commerce expanded so by using the ocean and its sea routes and water ways, so we Team Aqua are dedicated to expanding the sea! What a noble objective that is don't you agree?" Archie proclaimed.

"Don't you think the sea is the way it is for a reason, it's called balance my friend, and if you start messing with the way things are already, you're going to hurt the things you seek to advance" May replied.

"Oh you're still too young and naïve to understand. I'll tell you what, we'll leave for now, because I like your spirit kid, but if you ever try to interfere with us again, it will cost you dearly. Got it?"

May stuck her tongue at him.

"Such a childish thing to do" Archie remarked "alright everyone, let's evacuate the area!"

Just like that, Team Aqua left as quickly as they came.

"Well I'm glad that's over, thank you young lady, you saved us both back there" The man in the lab coat said.

"It was no problem, I wasn't going to let those weirdoes try and boss you around."

"I don't even know what they wanted…anyways, my name is Captain Stern" the man said holding out his hand.

"Oh Captain Stern" May said shaking his hand "I have a package for you from Mr. Stone."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah" May said as she reached into her fanny pack and pulled out Mr. Stone's package "here you go."

"Why thank you….I'm sorry I didn't catch your name"

"May" May replied.

"Why thank you May. You know, I think this is what those criminals were after."

"What is it?" May asked.

"Its blueprints for a submarine engine" Captain Stern replied.

"I wonder why they wanted them" May muttered.

"Who knows, I sincerely thank you May, you're one tough courier."

"So I've heard, well I'm glad I could help. Bye Captain Stern!"

"Bye May, and be careful around those Team Aqua folks, they aren't the crowd to be hanging around with."

May nodded, and exited the museum. Then she ran into a familiar face.

"Hello May, long time no see right" said a jolly Hawaiian shirt wearing man.

"Oh hey Scott, what have you been up to?" May asked.

"I was looking for other talented trainers, when I saw Team Aqua scrambling out of the museum. I assume you had something to do with that whole fiasco?" Scott asked.

"Yeah that was me" May replied.

"Ha ha, I knew it! It's a good thing I stumbled onto you on Route 104, you have to be one tough trainer to send Team Aqua running."

"Thanks" May said blushing.

"Well I'd better go, oh but before I do, I suggest you go try entering the Battle Tent on the north west part of the city." Scott suggested.

"Will do" May replied as Scott walked away. May started walking toward the pokemon center, and on the way called Mr. Stone to inform him that the tasks were completed.

* * *

"I'll have your pokemon healed right away!" Nurse Joy told May as she placed May's pokemon on a healing apparatus. May sat down on one of the benches in the pokemon center, just as Brendan swung through the door with a six pack of soda pops in his right hand.

"What a day, hello Nurse Joy, can you heal my pokemon for me?" he asked, not noticing May sitting on the bench.

"Sure I'll heal them right away!" Nurse Joy said as she placed his pokemon onto the healing machine.

"So what did you do?" May asked.

Brendan spun around "Oh hey May, I didn't know you were here already, did you deliver the package?"

"Yeah, Team Aqua made things difficult, but I handled it."

"Really Team Aqua!" Brendan said with concern in his voice "are you okay?" he asked taking a seat next to her.

"I'm fine" she assured him.

"Tell me what happened."

May recounted the events to him.

"Wow that's insane" Brendan said referring to Team Aqua's objectives.

"Yeah" May agreed.

Brendan frowned "May you should be more careful next time, people like that are not to be trifled with, you could have gotten hurt" he scolded her.

May got a surprised look on her face, did Brendan just scold her? "Don't worry Brendan I'll be fine, I can take care of myself. Why are you so worried about me?" she asked.

Brendan flustered a little "well…because we're friends, and I don't want to see you get yourself in trouble with those lunatics."

"Awww thanks Brendan that's really sweet" May smiled "okay, I'll promise to be more careful. Anyway, how was your day?"

"Amazing, right after you left I went back to the beach and found this place called the Seashore House. I won these soda pops after I beat all the trainers there!" he proclaimed, proud of himself.

"Good job Brendan!" May praised smiling.

"Then I went to the marketplace and bought you…" Brendan reached into his backpack "this!" Brendan handed her a plush Torchic doll.

"Oh it's so cute!" May squealed, hugging the doll.

"I thought you would like it" Brendan said smiling.

"Oh thank you Brendan, Thank you!" May exclaimed hugging him.

"N-No problem" Brendan said blushing "what are friends for."

May released him from her embrace and placed the doll on her lap "I can't wait to show it to Combusken and see what he thinks of it."

"Yeah" Brendan said still red in the face _"I knew she would love it!"_

"Hey Brendan" May said breaking Brendan away from his thoughts

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to come with me to the Battle Tent?" she asked.

"Sure, but it's getting kind of late. I think we should rest up here for tonight, and head over there tomorrow."

"Yeah you're right" May replied looking out the window to see the orange glow of the setting sun bathing the coastal city.

The two trainers picked up their pokemon when they were fully healed, and went to their own guest rooms.

* * *

"Ahhh nice and clean" May proclaimed as she exited the bathroom in her nightgown, wringing her wet hair with a towel. When she was done, she folded the towel and placed it on the dresser next to the bed. She laid on the plushy bed and wrapped her arms around her new Torchic Doll.

_"Oh Brendan, you are just too much!"_ she giggled as she pulled the cover over her and her doll _"I wonder why he's being so nice to me. Is it just friendship, or is he warming up to me? Oh I hope he's warming up to me!"_ she though excited as she gave her doll another tight hug and turned out the light.

_"I can't wait for tomorrow..."_

**So what did you all think of this chapter? Did you like it? I hope you did, thanks for reading, and if you have the time give me some feedback. I really would appreciate it.**


	17. The Battle Tent

** The Battle Tent**

May tossed and turned on her bed with a delighted smile. "Mmmmm...oh Brendan..." she mumbled "you can do whatever you want..."

_Ring Ring_

May's eyes fluttered opened. She looked toward the blaring alarm clock as she stretched her arms and let out a deep yawn.

_Ring Ring_

May placed her hand on the alarm clock to stop its ringing.

"Mmmmmmm, must've had a good dream" she muttered, noticing she felt eerily pleased. She shrugged her shoulders and grabbed her Torchic Doll to give it a good squeeze. She then gazed upon it, remembering when her little vato was just a Torchic.

_"He evolved just yesterday..."_

May felt a small pang of nostalgia in her heart. She missed her little Torchic. She shook off the feeling and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and shower. Thirty minutes later, May was finished and fully dressed. Once she was ready she grabbed the Torchic doll and set it down next to her. She then pulled out one of her pokeballs.

"Come on out little vato."

Out of the pokeball came May's fire and fighting type pokemon.

"Combusken!" it chirped ready for battle, but quickly eased itself when it realized he was not in a battle.

"Bus?" Combusken said confused as it turned toward May.

"No battles today Combusken, I sent you out to show you something."

"Combusken!" the fowl chirped excited.

"Look at this!" May said showing Combusken the Torchic plush.

Combusken eyes beamed as May showed him the doll. He closed his eyes and began to think about how just yesterday he was a little Torchic. He began to remember his first meeting with May on Route 101 and then to the battles he fought alongside her.

May sighed "just yesterday you were a Torchic and now you're a big strong Combusken, and you're only going to get bigger and stronger…" May gazed at Combusken remembering him as a little Torchic "soon you'll be a strong six foot tall Blaziken, and I won't be able to carry you in my arms like I use to when you were a Torchic…" May sighed again "I'm going to miss my little Torchic, not that I'm unhappy with your evolution, I'm glad you're growing, but it's just that I'm feeling a little nostalgic already and you just evolved yesterday. There's no going back…"

"Busken" Combusken chirped warmly as it wrapped its arms around May.

"Awww I love you too little vato" May said hugging him back. They hugged for about a minute until they released each other from their heartfelt embraces.

"You know, I think Brendan won't be awake for awhile, he's always sleeping in. How bout I release the rest of the gang so we can all hang out here for awhile?"

"Combusken!" the fowl pokemon exclaimed happily, liking the suggestion.

May released the rest of her pokemon.

"Beautifly!" May's butterfly pokemon cried as he fluttered onto May's head, making her giggle.

"Skit, Skit!" Skitty meowed as she jumped onto May's lap and nuzzled her.

"Aron…" Aron mumbled sadly turning its back to May and the rest of the pokemon.

"What's wrong Aron?" May asked. Aron was silent.

"Beaut!" Beautifly said angrily as he flew next to Aron and scolded him, thinking Aron was being rude.

"Beautifly calm down, I don't think he's trying to be rude" May said softly as she took Skitty off her lap and placed her on the bed, then walked over toward Aron.

She knelt down to look him in the eye. "What's wrong" she asked softly with wide comforting eyes.

"Aron…" it mumbled. May could tell he was feeling shame just by looking at his eyes. May remembered yesterday's battle when Poochyena and Zubat attacked Aron. Aron was scared and did not listen to May during the attack.

"I think I know what's wrong; you're feeling ashamed over the battle yesterday huh." Aron nodded as if to say yes.

May sat next to him "Aron don't feel bad, it's not your fault you choked. You're a timid pokemon and you get scared. You can't help it, so why feel bad? It's no reason to be ashamed" she said as she petted his cold metallic head. "Hell in the beginning of the match you fought well."

Aron still looked sad.

"Aron let me tell you something."

Aron listened intently.

"Did you know I actually use to be scared of pokemon?"

Aron's eyes were wide in disbelief.

"Yup, if I was in a room with all you pokemon like right now, I probably would've started freaking out."

Aron giggled a little.

"But I faced my fear and now I'm not scared…well that's not entirely true, I still get scared of pokemon sometimes. I don't think that fear will ever fully leave, but it's kept at bay because I know I have this pendant my mom gave me…" May took her pendant off her neck and showed it to Aron. "She said as long as I have this, I'll have the courage of the pokemon in the carving. This pendant acts as my safety net, if I ever get scared, I can always look at this and remember what ma told me."

Aron continued to listen

"You know what Aron, I think you need a safety net, you know, something you can turn to."

"Aron" Aron agreed

"We'll be your safety nets, me, Combusken, Skitty, Beautifly, all of us. Whenever you get scared, you'll have us to turn to!" she proclaimed.

"Aron!" the little steel type said happily as it jumped onto May's lap and cuddled up against her.

"I love you too Aron" May said with a pained face, as she patted the happy pokemon on its head "but you're kind of heavy."

Aron jumped off May's lap and giggled.

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better" May said smiling as she stood up. "I think Brendan may be up already, so it's time to go back into the pokeballs…" May recalled all her pokemon back into their pokeballs, and placed the pokeballs onto her belt. Then she exited her room and went towards Brendan's room, and knocked on his door.

"Brendan are you awake?" she called out.

"Yeah I just got out of the shower, hold on let me get dressed" came his voice from the other side of the door.

"Oh okay, I'll just wait at the lounge" May said as she walked toward one of the sofas in the lounge and sat down.

* * *

**5 Minutes Later…**

"Morning May" Brendan said as he walked into the lounge.

"Oh hey Brendan!" May said joyfully as she got up from the sofa "ready to head to the Battle Tent?"

"Sure, let's head out" Brendan answered as he walked toward May "hey, did Combusken like the doll I gave you?"

"He sure did, thanks again!" May replied as the two exited the pokemon center and went on their way to the battle tent.

The duo started toward the northwest side of the town. They took a detour through the Slateport Marketplace, passing through the sea of shoppers, and stalls selling various items. It took every ounce of her self control to stop herself from letting her curiosity get to her, and make her go off and get lost in the sea of people in the large open marketplace. After making it through the market place, they headed further north up the street. They soon reached a giant red and blue tent with other trainers crowding around it, prepping their pokemon for battle.

"This must be it" May said looking at the giant tent.

"Looks more like a circus" Brendan observed.

"Yeah it does doesn't it" May chuckled as she started toward the entrance with Brendan following close behind, trying to keep May's firm behind covered from the prying eyes of some of the male trainers. A cool breeze from the Battle Tent's air conditioning blew onto both trainers' faces, a nice change from the hot sun outside. They walked up to the registration counter.

"Hello ma'am, I was wondering if you could sign me and my friend Brendan up for the Battle Tent's double battles."

"Sure" the lady from behind the counter said "I just need your ID cards."

"Uh okay…" May said nervously as she handed the lady her ID card. Brendan did the same.

"Okay…May Maple Mendoza and Brendan Birch…you two will be partners in the 8:00 match, good luck!" the lady said handing back the trainers' ID cards.

"T-Thanks" May said as she and Brendan found a place to sit.

"I didn't know you had two last names" Brendan commented.

"Y-Yeah, it's my mom's last name" May chuckled, a little embarrassed.

"Why haven't you told me before, are you embarrassed of it or something?" he asked.

"N-No, it just never came up" she replied.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed May, it's your name, you should be proud of it" he said.

"I am, I am, it's just that I'm not use to people saying my full name. It's always been May, or May Maple. I've rarely been referred to as May Maple Mendoza."

"I think it's a nice name, in fact I think I might call you that from now on…Mendoza!" Brendan said with a sly smile.

"Oh no" May muttered "this is why I don't tell anyone my full name."

"It's settled; from now on I shall call you Mendoza!" Brendan said playfully.

"Oh shut up" May chuckled, slapping his arm lightly.

"You know what the funniest part is" Brendan started.

"What?"

"They'll probably say your name through the loud speakers" Brendan chuckled. "And on my right side of the battlefield, the handsome Brendan Birch with his attractive but hot headed friend May Maple…Mendoza!" he proclaimed with the best announcer voice he could muster out.

May started to laugh "I am not hot-headed!"

"Are so"

"Are not"

"Someone's in denial"

"I could say the same thing" May shot back with a sly smile.

"What do you mean?" Brendan asked.

"You know what I'm talking about" May said mischievously.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about" he replied.

"Oh yes you do, your crush…"

"Wha-What do you mean?" Brendan said defensively.

"The mystery girl from Route 102, who is she?" May asked.

"Why do you keep insisting I have a crush?" Brendan said blushing fiercely.

"Well for starters you're as red as a tomato. You also get real defensive when I mention it" she replied.

"Y-You, H-How…."

"May Maple Mendoza and Brendan Birch, your battle is about to commence. Please make your way to the battlefield" the loudspeakers interrupted.

"That's us" May said standing up "c'mon let's go."

"Why do you keep saying I have a crush on somebody, I-I don't!" he protested.

"Brendan you're going to give yourself a heart-attack, besides now is not the time, we are about to battle" May replied grabbing Brendan by the hand, causing him to blush even more, and lead him to the battlefield.

"Hold on" said a man before they could walk onto the battlefield.

"Yeah what's wrong?" May asked.

"You two must both choose one pokemon to battle with."

"Oh okay…" May said as she pondered on who she would send out "I know! I'll choose this one!" she proclaimed taking a pokeball from her belt.

"And I'll choose Zigzagoon" Brendan said taking out one of his pokeballs.

"Alright you two may pass" the man said allowing the two trainers to step onto the dirt battlefield. They were immediately greeted by a cheering crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen get ready for the second battle of the day!" came a voice from the loudspeakers that boomed throughout the tent, louder than the crowd. "This match will be a team 2 on 2 battle. On the blue side of the field are two trainers from Littleroot Town. Give it up for Brendan Birch and May Maple Mendoza!" the crowd cheered. "And on the red colored side, Ryan Andrews from Mauville City and Fontaine Franks **(A/N: These trainer's names are a reference to one of my favorite videogame series, they're just backwards. Can you guess which series this is?)** from LaRousse City!" This time do crowd did not cheer (fully at least). Cries of "go back to Mauville!" and "Mauville sucks!" escaped from the crowd. Ryan Andrews ignored the comments and kept his poise.

"Trainers send out your pokemon!"

"Alright let's do this!" Andrews exclaimed "go Numel!" Out of the pokeball came a four legged pokemon mostly light yellow in coloring, with a hump on its back with green coloring on it, the hump resembled a volcano. "Numel!" it cried.

"Go Cacnea!" Fontaine yelled. Out of Fontaine's pokeball came a small cactus like pokemon with a yellow crown like growth on its head. "Cacnea!" the grass type cactus cried.

"Let's go Zigzagoon!" Brendan cried releasing his normal type raccoon. "Zagoon!" he cried.

"Okay let's show everyone what we can do, go Aron!" May cried releasing her steel and rock type. "Aron!" the little pokemon cried.

_"Alright Aron, let's see what you can do"_

"Alright let's start this off with Leech Seed Cacnea!" Cacnea released a swarm of seeds at Zigzagoon.

"Dodge and use Sand Attack Zigzagoon!" Brendan instructed. "Zagoon!" the normal type yelled using its hind legs to throw dirt onto Cacnea's eyes, effectively lowering its accuracy. The crowd cheered.

"Numel use Tackle on Zigzagoon!" Ryan yelled. Numel charged at Zigzagoon.

"Cover Zigzagoon with Mud Slap!" May cried. Aron used its head to sweep a considerable load mud onto Numel's face. "Numel!" the fire and ground type pokemon cried as it cringed in pain from the super-effective attack.

"Nice, now both of their pokemon have lowered accuracy!" Brendan proclaimed. "Thanks" May replied, with a hint of pink forming on her cheeks.

"Numel, show em what we think of accuracy, use Magnitude!" Ryan yelled. Numel nodded with his eyes closed, and slammed its front legs onto the ground, creating a fairly strong tremor.

"Oh no, quick Aron use Harden to brace for the impact!" May yelled. Aron tightened its muscles as the tremor struck both him, Cacnea, and Zigzagoon (dealing super-effective damage to Aron). "Aron…" the little pokemon muttered in pain from the impact. May gasped "don't worry Aron, you can pull through. I believe in you!"

"Use Tackle on Aron" Ryan yelled to Numel. Numel began its charge.

"Zigzagoon, Protect Aron by tackling Numel!" Brendan instructed. Zigzagoon charged at Numel.

"Cacnea cover Numel with Pin Missile!" Fontaine yelled. Cacnea shot a swarm of sharp pins right at Zigzagoon. "Zagoon!" the normal type cried in pain as the needles pierced him. Then another swarm came, and another. A total of three swarms of pins struck Zigzagoon, halting his charge.

Numel continued his charge.

"Use Headbutt!" May cried. The hurt Aron managed to start chargeing at Numel headfirst.

BAM

Both pokemon collided, creating a noise so loud, you would think it was a car crash. "Num….el" the fire type muttered as it toppled over knocked out. "Numel is unable to battle" the loudspeakers proclaimed.

"We can do this Cacnea, use Needle Arm on Aron!" Fontaine yelled. Cacnea sprinted towards the badly hurt Aron, ready to pummel it with its needle ridden fist.

"Zigzagoon, use Growl to try and lower Cacnea's attack!" Brendan yelled.

BAM

It was too late, Cacnea landed its fist onto the already badly damaged Aron.

"Oh no!" May cried.

"Can this be it for Aron?" the loudspeakers boomed.

"Ar…." The little steel type muttered as it struggled back onto its feet. "Amazing, Aron survived the attack!" the loudspeakers yelled, the crowd cheered. "Bu-but how?" Fontaine stammered in disbelief

"Great job Aron!" May cheered "now use Metal Claw!" Aron nodded and jumped at Cacnea, slashing him with his metallic forelegs. "Cacnea!" the cactus pokemon cried, cringing in pain.

"Use one last Tackle Zigzagoon!" Brendan cried. "Zagoon!" the raccoon pokemon cried as it bolted toward Cacnea.

BAM

Cacnea was sent skidding back to its trainer knocked out.

"The winners of this match are May Maple Mendoza and Brendan Birch from Littleroot Town!" the loudspeakers proclaimed as the crowd went wild. "Good job Zigzagoon!" Brendan praised as his pokemon jumped into his arms, and licked his face. "Aron that was amazing!" May proclaimed as she ran up to her victorious pokemon and petted it "not feeling so ashamed now aren't you?"

"Aron!" the little pokemon replied happily.

Ryan and Fontaine recalled their pokemon and nodded their heads in respective approval of the trainers that beat them. "That was a spectacular match!" Ryan said. "Yeah, you two are really good" Fontaine added.

"Thank you, you two were really tough" May praised as she and Brendan recalled their pokemon.

The four trainers exited the battlefield and back into the Battle Tent's lobby.

* * *

" We did great out their didn't we Brendan!" May exclaimed.

"Yeah, we sure did!" Brendan agreed "so do you want to have another battle, or what?" he asked.

"Naw I just wanted to try this place out" May replied "let's head over to Mauville, I heard it's a real fun place."

"Okay" Brendan said "lead the way."

May nodded and started toward the battle tent's exit with Brendan following close behind. They soon found themselves walking down Route 110 toward Mauville City. May noticed Brendan was eerily silent. _"Is something wrong with him?"_

"Hey Brendan are you all right?" May asked.

"Why do you like drinking and smoking" Brendan inquired bluntly, taking May off guard.

"Oh uh..."

"Because May you know it's bad for you, yet you still do it. Why?" Brendan asked once again.

"That's been bothering you hasn't it" May chuckled.

"Well I wouldn't call it bothered" Brendan replied "just...concerned."

"Concerned eh" May muttered "...you're right, I do need to stop doing that stuff."

"Then why don't you" Brendan asked.

_"Awww jeez, I really don't want to talk about this, but he deserves an explanation."_

"Errr ummm..." May grimaced "alright I'll tell you. Doing that stuff reminds me of the good times back in Goldenrod with a certain...friend" May almost whispered the last word "but he's gone now..."

"Who was he?" Brendan asked curiously.

"He was a really good family friend" May replied "taught me a lot of things too, he was real smart."

"Oh" Brendan nodded "I had no idea..."

"Yeah, but that's not a good excuse to keep drinking and smoking" May replied "it's just hard to give that stuff up you know."

"I hear you" Brendan muttered "But if you ever need help, you know I could help you."

"Thanks, but I'm not addicted to the stuff" May chuckled "I just have bad habits is all. Thanks for offering to help though."

"Hey what are friends for right!" Brendan chuckled as he grasped May's shoulder lightly.

"Yeah" May giggled half-heartedly "friends..."

* * *

Brendan let go of May, and the two continued to walk down Route 110 until they came onto a fork on the road. If they headed west, they would be going down Route 103. If they continued down Route 110, they would reach Mauville City.

"Well let's keep going!" May proclaimed as she started toward Route 110.

"Uhh May."

"Yeah?" May said as she turned around to face Brendan "what's up?" she asked with that adorable face of hers.

"I was thinking of staying around Route 103 to look for you know..."

"Pokémon" May said, finishing his sentence.

"Yeah that's it" Brendan replied "why don't you keep heading toward Mauville, and I'll catch up with you later...maybe."

"Leaving me again huh" May chuckled, but Brendan could tell she was disappointed "alright, good luck" May waved as she continued down Route 110.

"Good luck to you too" Brendan said back as he slowly went down Route 103, looking back one more time to see May disappear in the distance, and sighed.

**Well it looks like May and Brendan are heading their separate ways again. What will May get herself into? What will Brendan get himself into? We'll find out soon enough. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and remember to review. They may not seem like much, but they really keep me motivated.**


	18. Brendan and the Trick House

**"_Quoted and bolded Italics will be the impulsive instinctive part of Brendan's mind"_**

_"Quoted italics will be Brendan's rational mind."_

** Brendan and the Trick House**

Brendan walked down Route 103. He looked back to see if May was still standing where the road divided, she was not.

"Guess she went down Route 110 already" he thought to himself.

He didn't like leaving May, but he did make his dad a promise, and that promise was to document all the pokemon of the Hoenn region, and by god he was going to see it through.

He did have another reason, one that he himself did not want to fully acknowledge. Since Brendan had met May (nine days ago) he had developed a strong friendship with her, but that was not all. He had also developed an attraction towards her. His instincts told him to express his feelings to her, but his rational mind told him not to. His rational mind shamed him for having feelings for a friend. It also warned that if he expressed his feeling to her and she didn't have feelings for him, not only would it make her uncomfortable it could quite possibly ruin their friendship. So for the earlier part of the week, he was content journeying with her as friends. Then night would come and he would be plagued by dreams involving him and May in suggestive situations. He would then scold himself mentally for having such dreams. He felt that he needed time away from May to take his sinful, lustful mind off her. Documenting pokemon for his dad was the perfect excuse. Maybe after time away from her, the feelings would go away…

_Grumble Grumble_

Brendan looked down at his tummy.

_Grumble Grumble_

"Guess it's time for a snack" Brendan muttered to himself as he took off his backpack and looked for something to eat. Little did he know something was watching him from the tall grass.

"Oh here's something" Brendan proclaimed as he pulled out a nutrition bar "better than nothing!" He opened his mouth and closed his eyes, ready to ease the strain in his stomach.

_CHOMP_

Brendan opened his eyes. His nutrition bar was gone. In front of him was a small green amorphous pokemon with single yellow plume on its head.

"Gulpin!" it said cheerfully.

"Hey!" Brendan cried "I was going to eat that..."

"Pin" Gulpin said indifferently as it gazed at Brendan.

"What the hell are you anyway?" Brendan muttered as he pulled out his pokedex.

_"Gulpin the stomach pokemon. This pokemon's stomach fluid can even digest scrap iron. In one gulp, it can swallow something that is as large as itself."_

"Cool!" Brendan exclaimed as he put his pokedex away "I'm going to catch-hey where'd he go?"

_Rustle Rustle_

Brendan looked toward the rustling noise and saw a trail of shaking tall grass leading away from him. "Damnit, he ran away..." Brendan muttered disappointed. He sat back down and sighed. _"I guess I should've gone with May. We would probably be in Mauville now eating lunch."_ He's mind started to drift to his friend May._ "I wonder what May's up to. Probably beat the gym leader over there all ready. Her and her amazing pokemon, her indomitable will, **her round firm a-**hey stop that brain!"_

**"_Oh don't act like you don't like thinking about it!"_**

_"I don't!"_ he protested.

**"_Then why are you?"_**

_"B-Because...uhhh...I'm hungry and I'm not thinking straight."_

**"_So, your hunger doesn't control your thoughts, you do!"_**

_"Then why am I hearing you?"_

**"_Cause you're such a lonely loser you have to no one but yourself to talk too!"_**

_"Ha ha, fuck you too"_

**"_Hey watch that god damn mouth of yours. Say something like that again and I'll smack you upside the head and knock that stupid hat right off!"_**

_"Pfft whatever"_

WHACK

Brendan slapped himself upside the head.

"Ow, what was that for?" Brendan asked.

**_"To show you that I CAN do it."_**

_Rumble_

"Gee I'm hungry" he muttered rubbing his grumbling tummy.

**"_Well go on, get something to eat."_**

_"I don't have anything to eat though." _

**"_Go to Mauville then, they probably got some nice restaurants over there."_**

_"All right then, I guess I'll go...w-wait, May is over there right now though."_

**_"And, what's wrong with May being over there?"_**

_"N-Nothing, I just want some time away from her is all..."_

**"_Why, did you two have an argument or something?"_**

_"Wha-No, I just…wait why am I explaining anything to you, you're my mind! You know everything I know!"_

**"_Yeah, and if I know everything you know, I know you have feelings for a certain someone!"_**

_"N-No I don't!"_

**"_How are you gonna lie to your own mind?"_**

_"Look brain, May is very attractive, there's no doubt in that. But we are just friends. The only affection I have for her is the one between two good friends."_

**"_Then why did you buy that Torchic doll, and that pokenav which by the way is still in your backpack .Furthermore why are you trying to take your mind off her? I'll tell you why. Because you're trying to deny your feelings for her! How do I know? Because I'm your fucking brain! I have feelings for her because you do! Just friends, ha you are just too much. I outta-"_**

_"Fine fine…I-I like her…"_

**"_See that wasn't so hard now was it?"_**

_"But it doesn't matter, I don't know if May likes me back, and I'm not going to just spill my guts out to her. No, we are just friends and that's how it's going to stay. I'm sure in time this feeling will go away."_

**"_If you say so…hehe so naïve…"_**

_"What do you mean by that!?"_

_Rumble, Rumble_

**"_I suggest you go find something to eat or else your stomach's rumbling's going to scare off all the pokemon."_**

_"No, what did you mean by what you said earlier!?"_

**_(Whistles as if he did not hear Brendan)_**

_"Fine be that way. I'll go get something to eat, but not at Mauville."_

**"_Then where?"_**

_"I don't know maybe I'll head back to Slateport and get a bite to eat over there."_

**"_Maybe you'll see you-know-who along the way."_**

"Oh shut up!" Brendan grumbled as he started back toward Slateport. As he went down Route 103, he noticed something he did not notice before. "Hey what's that?" Brendan muttered as he caught eye of a strange house amid the plants and trees. He walked up to it and read a sign out front.

_"The Trick House: Come and try to outwit the trick master…if you can!"_

"Pfft yeah right, I'm not going into some house in the middle of the forest, I've seen **Deliverance, **I'm not squealing for anybody!"

* * *

Brendan started down Route 110.

_Rumble, Rumble_

But did not get far.

"Huh I guess my stomach is putting its foot down, alright we'll head back to the murder house-oops, I mean trick house, to see if they got a bite to eat." Brendan walked back to the house and slowly approached the front door.

_Knock, Knock_

"H-Hello anyone home?"

No answer.

_"Well that's reassuring."_

Brendan turned the knob on the door…unlocked.

_"Why am I doing this?"_

He slowly opened the door and entered the house. Inside it was almost empty save for a rug, couch, and a pair of drawers. "Jeez is someone moving out of this house or what?" Brendan muttered.

"Tehe find me!" came a whisper from somewhere inside the room.

Brendan's heart started to pound "Who was that, show yourself!" Brendan cried terrified. Suddenly images of monsters and murderers from movies popped into his mind. "On second thought don't show yourself, I'll just call the cops…" Brendan pulled out his pokenav.

"Wait stop!" Suddenly one of the drawers opened, and out popped an old man with a grey beard. "Please don't call the cops, I mean you no harm."

"So you're not a pedophile or killer?" Brendan asked. "Wha-No! Didn't you read the sign outside? I'm the trick master!" the old man proclaimed. "Yeah I read the sign, why are you called the trick master?" Brendan asked once again. "Well" the old man started "because I'm the master of misdirection, the sultan of subtly, the paragon of pranksters, the despot of deception, the-"

"Okay I get it" Brendan interrupted.

"So young man, you have come to challenge me and my trick house right?" the trick master asked.

"Well…no. Actually I came here to see if this placed served lunch or something."

"Oh…well we do!" the trick master said. "Oh really!" Brendan beamed "may I please have some, I'll gladly pay…"

"No" the trick master interrupted "no money, if you want lunch you must take the trick master's challenge!" he proclaimed. "Okay" Brendan agreed "what is the trick master's challenge?"

The trick master smiled and much to Brendan's surprise, pushed a part of the wall open. "Pretty cool trick door huh, made it myself" the trick master boasted "follow me." Brendan followed the trick master through the door and into another room. Inside was a large maze. "This is the trick master's maze" the trick master said "it's a winding twisting maze full of revolving doors. You must find a scroll with a password written on it and write it on a door somewhere in the maze. Then you can have your lunch…and a prize!"

"Really, what sort of prize?" Brendan asked as he turned around, but the trick master was gone. "H-How did he do that?" Brendan stammered in shock.

Brendan shook off the incident and went into the maze. Brendan walked in. "How can I find anything in this damn maze?" he muttered. The maze twisted every which way, with most paths leading to dead ends. Right left, left right, right right...he soon realized he was lost.

* * *

"Damnit another dead end!" came a voice from somewhere inside the maze.

"I wonder who that is" Brendan thought to himself as he went to the source of the voice. He soon found a boy with glasses and nerdy clothes.

"Hello!" Brendan greeted.

"Hello" the other boy said frowning "you must be after the prize as well"

"Well actually-"

Before Brendan could finish the boy lunged at him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt "you're not getting that prize, I am!"

"L-Look I don't want any trouble!" Brendan stammered nervously.

"Well you got it!" the boy said through gritted teeth as he pulled Brendan's hat down until it covered his eyes, and threw him towards a wall. Surprisingly, instead of hitting the wall, Brendan went through it!

"A revolving door!" the boy exclaimed as he followed Brendan through the door.

"Owww" Brendan grumbled as he pushed his hat up so he could see again. He caught something in the corner of his eye.

"The scroll!" the boy exclaimed as he grabbed the parchment "yes the prize is mine!"

"Oh no you don't!" Brendan said picking himself off the floor "you push me to the ground, then steal the scroll that I saw first!?"

"Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?" the boy asked bearing down on Brendan menacingly.

"I'll…" Brendan muttered, not knowing what to say. He was not someone who liked confrontation.

"That's right, you won't do anything…wuss!" the boy chuckled as he went through the revolving door.

"Wait a minute!" Brendan yelled as he followed the boy through the revolving door "I challenge you to a battle!"

"Fat chance!" the boy said "I'm not wasting my time battling you, I'm finding the door and getting the prize!" and with that, the boy ran off.

"Come back here!" Brendan yelled as he chased after the boy throughout the maze. After running throughout the insanely confusing, twisting, and headache-inducing maze, the two finally reached the door.

* * *

"Yes the door!" the boy proclaimed, just as Brendan snatched the scroll back.

"Hey!"

"Serves you right!" Brendan said as he read the password on the scroll in his mind "Trick master is amazing…really!? This guy is vain."

"Give it back!" the boy protested.

"I saw it first!" Brendan shot back.

"If I hadn't thrown you, you never would've found it!"

"You wouldn't have either!" Brendan yelled.

"Alright there's only one way to settle this…" the boy grumbled as he pulled out a pokeball "a pokemon battle!"

"Bot you were the one who said...Aw whatever, let's do this" Brendan said as he pulled out his own pokeball "go Mudkip!"

Out of Brendan's pokeball came his cute little four-legged water type.

"Mudkip!" the little pokemon cried, ready for battle.

The opposing boy unclipped a pokeball from his belt. "Go Kecleon!" the boy cried releasing an awkward reptilian pokemon. It had two green crests lined by yellow stripes on the sides of its head. It also had a long curved tail, and a red band around its torso.

"Kecleon!" it cried.

"Kecleon huh" Brendan muttered intrigued as he pulled out his pokedex.

_"Kecleon the color swap pokemon. A pokemon that has the ability to alter its body colors to match its surrounding. A Kecleon reverts to its original colors if it is startled."_

"Alright Kecleon use Fury Swipes!" the boy yelled. Kecleon nodded and charged toward Mudkip with his sharp claws held high at his sides, ready to lacerate Mudkip.

"Dodge and use Tackle!" Brendan instructed. Mudkip followed Brendan's command, and jumped to the side, evading Kecleon's incoming claws and countered by slamming into Kecleon with the broad side of his torso. Kecleon fell to the floor slightly damaged.

"Again Mudkip, use Tackle!" Brendan yelled. Mudkip charged at Kecleon once again.

"Now Kecleon use Faint Attack!" the opposing boy cried. Kecleon did nothing and just laid where he had fallen. _"Ha, his pokemon won't even listen to him. This will be easy" _Brendan thought to himself as Mudkip got closer and closer to the color swap pokemon. Suddenly Kecleon sprang up and struck Mudkip with his sharp claws. "Mud!" Mudkip cried cringing in pain as he stumbled back a few paces.

"Now Kecleon use Psybeam!" The boy yelled. Kecleon closed his eyes and used its mental energy to create and fire a psychic beam of energy at Mudkip. "Kip!" Mudkip cried once again as the strong brainwave brought him to his knees.

"Come on Buddy you can pull-"

Before Brendan could finish his sentence, Mudkip started to shine brightly. The light was so bright that it caused Brendan, the boy, and Kecleon to cover their eyes.

When the light faded an entirely new pokemon stood where Mudkip once laid. The new pokemon stood on two short thick legs. It had two arms with three fingers. It was mostly light blue in coloring. It had a pair of orange whiskers on each cheek as well as on orange circle on its belly. It had two dark blue fin-like tails on its bottom as well as a dark blue crest on its head.

"Marshtomp!" he cried with his new arms outstretched.

"Alright you evolved!" Brendan praised, and took out his pokedex.

_"Marshtomp the mud fish pokemon. Its toughened hind legs enable it to stand upright. Because it weakens if its skin dries out, it replenishes fluids by playing in mud. Known moves: Water Gun, Mud Shot, Take Down, Growl."_

"Alright Marshtomp let's see what you can do" Brendan exclaimed with a confident smirk "use Mud Shot!" "Tomp" Marshtomp nodded as he opened his mouth and released a stream of mud at Kecleon, striking with incredible force. Kecleon skidded to the floor, its skin turning brown.

_"Hey I almost forgot, Kecleon's ability is Color Change. It changes into whatever type is used on it!"_

"Marshtomp, since Kecleon is the ground-type right now, use Water Gun!" Brendan yelled. Marshtomp nodded and opened his mouth, releasing a powerful jet of water at Kecleon, dealing super-effective damage.

"Leon..." Kecleon muttered as he swayed back and forth until he fell to the floor knocked out.

"Oh no Kecleon!" the boy cried recalling his defeated pokemon.

"Ha ha good job little buddy!" Brendan exclaimed as he high-fived his newly evolved Marshtomp.

"Marshtomp!"

"Alright Marshtomp you did great, get some rest" Brendan said as he recalled his newly evolved pokemon "well well, I guess the prize is mine" he said smirking. The boy turned extremely red in the face, and stormed off. "Serves him right" Brendan muttered as he wrote the password on the door and went through into yet another room. This room contained a table, a chair, and the trick master.

* * *

"So you were able to rise above the perils of my maze…very well, you have earned this" he handed Brendan a plate with a sandwich on it. Brendan's eyes beamed and his mouth watered. "And this…" the trick master reached into his pocket and pulled out a green stone with a carving of a leaf on it.

Brendan eyed the stone curiously "what is it?" he asked.

"This is the prize, it's a Leaf Stone. You can evolve certain pokemon with it" the trick master informed him.

"Cool" Brendan said as he placed the stone into his backpack.

"Well young man I hope you enjoyed your visit to at the trick house. Please visit again when I've upgraded my tricks!" the trick master said smiling.

"I sure will, and thank you for the sandwich" Brendan thanked.

"No problem, if you want you can exit through that door" he pointed at a door on the right-side of the room.

"Okay bye" Brendan waved as he exited the trick house, and was back onto Route 110.

* * *

"God this looks good" Brendan mumbled as he stared the sandwich "I need to find a good place to eat this." Brendan surveyed the area, looking for a good place to eat. He spotted a shaded area under a tall tree and decided to eat there. Brendan walked over to the tree, sat down, leaned against the trunk, and brought the sandwich close to his mouth. He closed his eyes ready to take a bite…

CHOMP

Brendan opened his eyes, only to reveal that his sandwich was taken in one bite by a familiar green amorphous pokemon with one yellow plume-like extension on its head. It let out a loud belch

"Gulpin"

Brendan stared in shock for about 5 seconds

_Rumble_

"B-But I was going to eat that" Brendan said glumly.

"Gulpin" the pokemon replied, oblivious to Brendan's hunger.

Brendan sighed "well I guess I HAVE to head to Mauville now…" Brendan got up and started down Route 110.

"Gulpin"

Brendan turned around and noticed the Gulpin following him.

"Gulpin" it said.

"Do you want to travel with me?" he asked.

The Gulpin nodded.

"Well it looks like I made a new friend!" Brendan smiled and pulled out a pokeball, and placed it on the ground. Gulpin slid toward the pokeball and pressed the button. It was immediately turned into a red swirl of energy and captured within the pokeball. It shook three times and pinged. Brendan grabbed the pokeball and placed it on his belt.

"That's two friends I made today!"

Brendan continued down Route 110 toward Mauville City.

**Thanks for reading, and if you have the time, review! Them reviews keep me happy!**


	19. Shock and Awe

** Shock and Awe**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Stone Temple Pilots or their song Big Bang Baby, it is merely referenced in this chapter to give the story flavor.**

"Looks like I'm on my own again" May muttered as she walked down Route 110 _"is it just me, or is Brendan trying to avoid me?"_ May thought to herself. These thoughts troubled her as she walked down the route, had she done something to upset him? These thoughts continued until she looked up to see what lay ahead of her.

"Wow I've never seen anything like this before!" May exclaimed, her sapphire orbs beaming.

What May was referring to was a man-made passage that was part of Route 110. This passage was built to connect Route 110 to Mauville City (which was naturally separated by a river) by employing what appeared to be a modern form of the ancient Mesoamerican technique of _chinampa_ raising. The creators of the passage had built a fenced area anchored to the riverbed which stretched from what would be the end of Route 110, to the start of Mauville City. The area was then layered with fertile soil and dead vegetation until it piled up and rose above the water (large hollow metal rods were placed in the soil so water could pass through). Then art deco stylized rails were put in place on both sides of the path so people would not fall into the river. Finally, the soil and dead vegetation was used as fertilizer to plant tall grass and other beautiful plants and flowers to create a habitat for pokemon native to the area. This was essentially a floating garden that people could cross to reach Mauville from Slateport and vice versa. Further down, she could make out a large complex situated on the river. She figured it to be the Slateport-Mauville Dam.

"I-I'm speechless, this is just…beautiful!" May said amazed as she walked down the beautiful path. She marveled at the flowers and vegetation brimming with pokemon ranging from flying types such as Tailow, to normal types such as Zigzagoon. May's eyes caught sight of a decorated sign.

"Wonder what that is?" she muttered to herself as she walked toward the sign, wadding through the tall grass, causing small pokemon to scamper away.

"Xochi Path" May read "An eco-friendly passage created for the wonderful citizens of Slateport and Mauville by the nice guys at the Hearts From Hoenn."

_"Those Hearts From Hoenn guys made this? I guess they can't be all bad, maybe they just made some miscalculations when it comes to certain issues"_ May thought to herself as she continued down Xochi Path, savoring every sight the passage had to offer. Too bad for her, the trip was short- lived and she soon stepped foot out of the beautiful Xochi Path, and into Mauville City.

* * *

"This city looks real fun!" May observed. Indeed it was, for Mauville City was the central hub for leisure, vice, and all around good times in Hoenn. There were theaters, gambling corners, arcades, anything that had to do with fun was there. Young trainers walked along the sidewalks exiting and entering the different complexes. One building in particular took an interest to May. It was large and wide, and dotted with light bulbs (most likely used for when night came, and the building wanted to advertise itself). She walked up to the building and read the sign situated just outside the entrance.

_"The Mauville City Game Corner: Let Lady Luck Shine on You! (To use the facilities inside the game corner, you must be at least 10 years old)."_

"The game corner eh" May muttered as she read the sign. "Maybe I can take one break before I challenge the gym" she giggled as she entered the game corner.

* * *

When May entered the complex, she was immediately greeted with dim lights, a mass of loud young people, and the song **Big Bang Baby **by **The Stone Temple Pilots.**The place reeked of marijuana and alcohol, most likely from all the young people there. May waded through the mass of youths to reach the counter where you can exchange money for chips.

"I would like to exchange my 1,000 pokedollars for 1,000 game corner chips" May said as she pulled out all of the money from her wallet and handed it to the man behind the counter.

"No problem young lady" the man said as he took May's money and handed her the chips "may lady luck shine down you" he said with a smile.

"Thank you" May said as she grabbed her chips and made her way to the roulette tables. Most were full. She looked back and forth, hoping to spot a table with an empty seat while she tried to keep her chips from falling. After two minutes of searching, she finally spotted an empty seat at a table.

"Alright everyone, place your bets" the roulette table manager cried as the people at the table began to place their bets.

"45 on 12 black!"

"I'll place 60 on 17 red!"

"35 on 16 black!"

"250 on 19 red!" May cried.

All the occupants on the table turned toward May in disbelief as she slowly placed her chips on the table. May looked back at all of them "I like to live...dangerously" **(A/N: What am I referencing here?)**

The roulette table manager spun the roulette wheel. May's eyes followed the ball round and round, making her dizzy. _"Oh Please let it land!"_

"19 red!" the manager proclaimed.

When May heard these words, she could not believe her ears. Did she just win. The cheers of onlookers and groans of those who lost seemed to verify her victory. She looked onto the roulette wheel and saw it was indeed on 19 red.

"I won!" May exclaimed as she was given 285 chips.

"Oh my!" May mumbled with beaming eyes. _"Holy shit, I won!"_

"Spin again, spin again!" the onlookers cheered.

"O-Okay, 15 red!" May proclaimed as she placed 285 chips onto 15 red.

The roulette wheel spun again. Everyone was silent. Round and round it went...

"15 red!" the roulette table manager proclaimed. May could not believe her ears. The crowd erupted with praise. More onlookers came as they heard of the lucky girl at the roulette tables. May was given her 320 chips.

"Again Again!" the crowd cheered.

May was ecstatic, this had to be her lucky day. "Alright lets do this, 20 black!' she exclaimed as she put all but 100 of her chips onto 20 Black. The roulette wheel began to spin...

* * *

**5 Minutes Later...**

May approached the exchange counter with a somewhat annoyed expression on her face.

"I would like to exchange my chips for money" she said .

"No problem, just hand in your chips" the man behind the counter replied. May sighed and handed the man 100 chips.

"Okay...and here you go" the man said as he handed May 100 pokedollars "we hope you had a swinging time here at the game corner!"

"Freakin fabulous" May muttered sarcastically as she placed her money into her fanny pack and exited the game corner.

_"Puta Madre!"_

* * *

May found herself back onto the crowded streets of Mauville, looking for the gym with her pokenav.

_"Man I can't believe I lost almost all my money. What am I going to do with 100 pokedollars? A damn potion costs 200 pokedollars!"_

"Excuse me ma'am"

May gasped as she heard this and felt someone grab her leg. She looked down to see a downtrodden man in ragged clothes looking sorry for himself.

"Uhhh are you okay?" May asked.

"Can you spare any change, I lost my job" the man said sadly.

"That's terrible" May said sadly "what happened?"

"I got laid off" the man replied "and no one's been hiring so I couldn't pay my bills. They foreclosed on my house."

May had nothing to say, she just had her mouth agape in disbelief.

"It's not fair you know" the man continued "damn fed's quantitative easing policies inflated the currency so much that businesses have to lay people off and lower wages. To top it off, everything costs more so its even harder to make ends meet. I-I just couldn't do it..."

"D-Don't they know they're hurting people like you?" May asked.

"I don't think they care" the man grumbled "it's been like this for decades now, hell it's the sixth round of quantitative easing. They say the higher value for the commodities will drive us workers to work more and drive business forward, but like I said before, businesses have to give lay offs and lower wages so that means hard times for us. We can barely make enough to buy the essentials, let alone pay for our homes. Hell, most of my money went to trying to pay off the interest of the house before the actual principle. What happens when we have no homes? We don't work is what!"

May couldn't believe her ears. She had seen poverty first hand (hell she was poor herself), but she never heard the side of the poor people living on the streets. "I cannot believe those assholes" May grumbled with her fists clenched. She reached into her fanny pack and took out her 100 dollars "here you go. I know it's not much, but it's all I got" she said as she handed it to the man.

"Wow thank you young lady" the man said with a happy smile "you know I was starting to think this city was full of uncaring little brats, but you have shown me otherwise."

"I'm just glad I could help" May replied "I know what it's like to be poor, so I can relate to you."

"It's nice to know there are still decent people in this god forsaken region" the man nodded as he got up and shuffled off.

May sighed _"Poor man, he lost everything, and here I am throwing away my money at gambling corners in this damn city, I feel so selfish..." _May shook her head _"I thought Hoenn was going to be different then Goldenrod, but it has the same problems. It's just hidden better here...or people don't care." _May shook these troubling thoughts away and continued toward the Mauville gym.

* * *

Soon May had her sights on a building with a brown roof. Who stood at the entrance of the gym made her smile. The boy had green hair, and was arguing with an older looking man.

"Aw, uncle, please?" Wally pleaded "I want to challenge this gym and see how much better I've become. Please? May I, Please?"

"I know you've gotten stronger since you've gotten your pokemon" Wally's uncle replied "but don't you think taking on a gym is pushing it?"

"I'm not pushing it" Wally said "If I combine forces with Kirlia, we can beat anyone!"

"Hey Wally!" May greeted cheerfully, getting the attention of both Wally and his uncle. "Wha-Oh hey May!" Wally waved happily "uncle this is my friend May, she's a real tough trainer."

"Hello young lady" Wally's uncle said as he held out his hand. "Hello sir, it's nice to meet you" May said politely as she shook the man's hand.

"You're polite, I like that" Wally's uncle said smiling.

"Hey May" Wally started "can you battle with me so I can show my uncle how much stronger I've become?"

"Uhhh sure why not" May said as she pulled unclipped one of her pokeballs.

"Yes!" Wally exclaimed as he grasped his single pokeball with his sickly hand and threw it into the air "c'mon out Kirlia, let's do our best!"

Out of Wally's pokeball came a short, white, bipedal pokemon with thin arms and legs, and a tutu-like growth around its waist. She also had a green hair-like growth on its head along with two red crests.

"Kirlia" it said softly with a hint of enthusiasm for battle, but did her best to not let it show by keeping herself poised.

"What a cute pokemon!" May squealed as she pulled out her pokedex.

_"Kirlia the emotion pokemon. A Kirlia has the psychic power to create a rip in the dimensions and see into the future. It is said to dance with pleasure on sunny mornings."_

"Alright, go Skitty!" May said as she threw her pokeball and released her pink normal type kitten.

"Skit Skit" Skitty meowed as she shook her tail, anxious for battle.

"Alright Skitty, use Double Slap!" May instructed.

Skitty nodded and charged toward Kirlia, ready to strike the psychic type with her tail.

"Quick use Double Team!" Wally cried.

In an instant, Kirlia became two, then four, then eight! Skitty stopped in her tracks and looked back and forth at all the Kirlias that circled her. She had no idea which Kirlia was real.

"Now use Confusion!" Wally instructed.

All the Kirlias closed their eyes, and the real Kirlia (unknown to Skitty and May) focused all of her mental energy to create a damaging psychic force to use against Skitty. "Skit!" Skitty cried in pain as the psychic attack struck her, but not confusing her.

May looked upon the battle with gritted teeth.

_"Damn what am I going to do? I don't know which one's the real Kirlia! Wait, take a deep breath May" _May took a deep breath _"alright I need to find out which Kirlia is the real one, but I won't get anywhere just hitting random ones..."_

"Kirlia use Double Team again!" Wally said confidently. Kirlia went from eight to sixteen. Skitty became even more anxious as she watched the influx of Kirlias surrounding her.

_"Stay calm May" _May told herself _"...Oh I know what to do!"_

"Use Sing!" May directed. Skitty wasted no time, she began to let rhythmic purrs escape from her throat.

_"Skit...Skit Skit...Skitty Skit..."_

All the Kirlias started to slowly close their eyes. As the real Kirlia started to drift to sleep, all her copies began to fade away. "Oh no!" Wally cried distressed "please wake up Kirlia!" he pleaded, but it was to no avail, Kirlia didn't even stir.

_"This is my chance!"_

"Now use Double Slap!" May instructed.

Skitty charged at Kirlia (who was sleeping sat down and cross legged) and slapped Kirlia not once, but twice. The blows not only sent Kirlia reeling back, but woke her up as well.

"Try using Confusion!" Wally pleaded. Kirlia began to start up her attack. She closed her eyes and began to gather her mental energy to use it to create a somewhat powerful psychic attack

"Quick use Tackle!" May yelled.

Skitty charged at Kirlia. Before Kirlia could launch her mental attack, Skitty struck her with the broad side of her torso. "Kirlia!" Kirlia cried as she was sent back to Wally's feet knocked out. Wally stared down at his defeated Kirlia with his mouth agape.

"...I lost..."

"Return" May said as she recalled Skitty "you did excellent out there, good job."

"Return Kirlia, you did great" Wally muttered with slumped shoulder as he recalled Kirlia and clipped her pokeball onto his belt "...alright uncle, I'm ready to go home."

_"Jeez he really seems sad" _May thought to herself as she looked upon the sad figure of Wally. She felt kind of bad for beating him.

"Oh Wally don't be too down" Wally's uncle said as he patted his nephew on the shoulder "you may have lost, but now you know you have room to improve."

"You're right" Wally said perking up slightly. He brought his head up and looked toward May "thanks for battling with me, it has shown me a lot."

"It was no problem" May replied "I got to say you are a pretty good battler."

"Thanks" Wally said perking up even more.

"How bout we go back home" Wally's uncle suggested.

"Okay" Wally said as he and his uncle started down the street. Before they got any further though, Wally's uncle turned around and walked back toward May. "It just dawned on me that you must be the person that watched over Wally as he caught his pokemon."

"Yeah that was me" May said, confirming the uncle's assertion.

"Well I want to thank you for helping Wally so much" the uncle said "being with pokemon has really helped build the boy's will, and that battle I believe will give him the drive to better himself.'

"Oh it was my pleasure" May replied "Wally's such a nice boy. I don't mind doing anything for him."

"That's very nice of you" the uncle said "hey if you have the time, why don't you come over to our home in Verdanturf?"

"I certainly will" May said with a smile.

"Great, well we have to go" the uncle said as he and Wally started to walk down the road.

"Bye May!" Wally waved "good luck with your gym battle!"

"Thanks Wally!" May waved back "I'll see you soon!" Once Wally and his uncle disappeared in the distance, May took a deep breath and entered the Mauville City gym.

* * *

The interior of the gym was lit with a dozen fluorescent light bulbs, allowing May to get a clear picture of what was around her. The walls and battlefield of the gym were made of metal. Something unique by far because the other gyms May had fought in, the battlefields were made either of sand or dirt. Standing opposite of her was a portly man with white hair, a white beard, a white moustache, and a jolly smile wearing a yellow jumpsuit with a brown sweater over it.

"Hello" May greeted.

"Why hello there sweetie!" the man greeted joyfully "My name's Wattson, leader of this here gym. Who might you be?"

"My name's May" May answered.

"Why hello there May, what are you doing here?" Wattson asked.

"Oh I-"

Before May could say anything, Wattson interrupted her.

"How are you liking the city? Have you gone to any of the game corners, How about the arcades?" Wattson asked.

"Oh uh yeah I've been to the game corner...and lost almost all my money..." May replied.

"Oh I'm sorry to here that" Wattson replied "but hey it's all for fun. I'm just glad all you responsible kids are having good clean fun."

_"Good clean fun!? Man this poor old guy is out of touch..."_

"Uh yeah, but I'm here to have a gym battle with you." May said.

"Wahahahaha!" Wattson laughed "You want to challenge me!? But you're such a small little thing. You seem too sweet to be a battler, but you know what they say: Don't judge a book by its cover! Alright honey I'll battle with you, let me just through the rules with you."

"Alright let's hear em" May said.

"My gym takes three on three elimination battles, and no potions or status healing items" Wattson replied.

"Okay that's fine by me" May said as she unclipped one of her pokeballs "I'm ready."

"Wahahahahaha!" Wattson laughed "alright kiddo let's do this!" Wattson unclipped one of his pokeballs and threw it into the air. Out of the pokeball came...a pokeball? No wait it wasn't a pokeball, it was a pokemon that looked like a pokeball.

**_"Voltorb!"_ **it screeched with a voice that sounded like a motor starting up.

"What an interesting looking pokemon" May muttered as she pulled out her pokedex.

_"Voltorb the ball pokemon. It bears an uncanny and unexplained resemblance to a pokeball. Because it explodes at the slightest shock, even veteran trainers treat it with caution."_

_"Voltorb huh, I'm guessing it's an electric type meaning Wattson is an electric type trainer. Alright, do I have any pokemon that are effective against electric types? No I do not. Mierda...Oh well, I think I can do this without a type advantage. Here go's nothing..."_

"Come on out Beautifly!" May yelled as she threw her pokeball into the air. Out of May's pokeball came her arrogant bug/flying type. "Beaut" he muttered as he fluttered about the room, sizing up his opponent.

"What?!" Wattson exclaimed in disbelief "you're seriously going up against an electric type with a flying type!?"

"Serio" May replied simply "I like the extra challenge."

"Wahahahaha!" Wattson laughed "alrighty then, Voltorb use Rollout!"

Voltorb started rolling toward Beautifly, gaining speed as it got closer. As it was halfway to Beautifly, it jumped (somehow) and barreled toward the butterfly pokemon.

"Dodge and use Stun Spore" May instructed coolly.

Beautifly, abiding by May's instructions, flew out of Voltorb's way and released a cloud or paralyzing dust from his pores. The Stun Spore encompassed the ball pokemon, paralyzing it as it fell onto the ground. _**"Torb!" **_Voltorb screeched as it hit the ground, its movement now impaired from the paralysis.

"Good job Beautifly!" May praised.

"Beaut" Beautifly nodded.

"Don't think we're through yet sweetie" Wattson said as he looked toward his Voltorb "use charge!"

Voltorb started to vibrate violently, his movements charging him with electrical energy.

_"Uh oh, this doesn't look good. What is Wattson planning?"_

"Wondering what I'm up to aren't you" Wattson said, noticing May pondering "Wahahahaha! I'll show you, Voltorb use Shock Wave!"

Once again Voltorb started to vibrate. The more time passed, the more violently he shook. May was afraid he was going to blow up.

"Dodge it!" May cried.

"That won't work sweetie!" Wattson chuckled. May and Beautifly found out why.

**_"TORB!"_ **Voltorb screeched as it let loose with a storm of wildly flailing thunderbolts. They were impossible to evade. "Beaut!" Beautifly cried as the super-effective attack struck him. Beautifly crashed down onto the metal floor.

"Oh no Beautifly!" May cried as she looked upon her grounded bug/flying type. He was struggling to get back up. May could see smoke escaping from Beautifly's body. He had been roasted. She looked up to see Wattson looking onto both her and Beautifly with his arms crossed and smirk on his face.

"Beaut..." Beautifly muttered as he tried his best to get back up, but May knew he was down for the count. She grabbed his pokeball and recalled him. "Come back Beautifly, you did great" she said as she clipped his pokeball back onto her belt and pulled out another one.

"What might this one be?" Wattson asked with a smirk on his face.

"You'll see" May muttered as she threw her pokeball up into the air "let's go Aron!" Out of May's next pokeball came a small metal four-legged pokemon encased in armor.

"Ron!" he cried much less timidly, his confidence brought up from his battle in the battle tent.

'Hmmmm an Aron..." Wattson muttered "interesting..."

May looked down at Aron and tried to conceive of a plan to take out Wattson and his Voltrob.

_"Alright let's see how I'm going to do this" _May pondered _"That move Shock Wave is unavoidable so I need to take Voltorb out before he hits Aron with that move cause I don't think Aron has the best special defense...Hmmmm I think Aron knows an a move that can hurt Voltorb and raise his attack..." _

"Now Aron use Metal Claw!" May instructed.

Aron nodded and charged toward Voltorb, ready to tear at Voltorb with his metal hard forelegs.

"Use Charge!" Wattson yelled.

Voltorb started to store electrical energy, just as Aron got into clawing distance and began to viciously rake Voltorb with his hard forelegs. Although it was not very effective, it did hurt Voltorb somewhat, but it did do what May hoped it would do. It raised Aron's attack. Once Aron had slashed at Voltorb sufficiently, he jumped away from the ball pokemon, awaiting May's next instructions.

_"Alright now it's time for him to use Mud Slap. I just hope he can break through the floor..."_

"Alright Aron, now use Mud Slap!" May yelled. Aron nodded as he got ready to perform the attack, but soon realized that the floor was not made out of dirt. "Ron?" he said confused as he looked back towards May.

"Try breaking through it buddy!" May cheered, confident in Aron's abilities "I remember you breaking through rock back in the Granite Cave, maybe you can break through the metal floor." Aron shrugged and slammed his head onto the floor. The action ended with the battlefield and Aron's head vibrating slightly, but the metal floor did seem to give way slightly.

"Quick while they're busy, use Shock Wave!" Wattson yelled.

May suddenly felt anxious _"Oh no, he's going to use the attack!"_

"..."

"..."

Voltorb did not move, his paralysis prevented hi, from doing so.

"Odelay!" May cheered "gracias a dios!" As May praised her God-given luck, Aron slammed his head onto the ground once more. This time he broke through the floor and reached the moist dirt underneath.

"Now use Mud Slap!" May yelled.

Aron wasted no time using his head as a tool to sweep the dirt (sprinkled with small metal fragments) at Voltorb. **"Voltorb!"** the ball pokemon screeched as the super-effective attack struck him. The defeated Voltorb rolled back toward Wattson knocked out.

"Oh my" Wattson said as he looked upon his defeated electric type "you took him out...I got to say, you're pretty tough, especially for a innocent little girl."

"Thanks" May said "you're very tough yourself Mr. Wattson."

"Wahahahaha! I am aren't I!" Wattson bellowed "alright, go Magneton!" he yelled as he threw out his next pokeball. Out of the sphere came an odd looking pokemon that seemed to be composed of three separate pokemon that each had one eye on their sphereical body and a pair of magnets on their sides.

**_"Magneton!"_ **it screeched with a metallic voice that sounded like two gears jamming. May gave the pokemon the once over. _"This is a weird looking pokemon" _she thought to herself as she pulled out her pokedex to document the odd looking pokemon.

_"Magneton the magnet pokemon. It is actually three Magnemite linked by magnetism. It generates powerful radio waves that raise temperatures by 3.6 degrees F within a 3,300 ft radius."_

"Interesting" May muttered as she put her pokedex away "Alright, use Headbutt Aron!"

Aron nodded and charged at Magneton headfirst. As he got close, the little steel/rock type jumped into the air to land the attack onto the levitating electric type. But when Aron struck Magneton, it did virtually no damage to it. May and Aron looked at Magneton shocked (no pun intended). How could that attack not have even faced it?

"Wahahahaha!" Wattson laughed "you seem to be ignorant to the fact that Magneton here is a electric AND steel type."

_"Oh shit" _May thought to herself _"he's a steel type too! Now what am I going to do?"_

Wattson took the opportunity to order his pokemon to attack while May was lost in thought. "Magneton use Shock Wave!"

Magneton began to vibrate vigorously, and released a violent storm of electrical jolts that bounced around the metal coated battlefield. "RON!" Aron cried as the powerful attack struck him, preying on his weak special defense. His legs wobbled and he collapsed, twitching from the shock.

May gasped and pulled out Aron's pokeball. "Return Aron!" Aron was transformed into a red swirl of energy and brought back into his pokeball to rest. May clipped the pokeball back onto her belt and looked at her last pokeball. _"Hijole, that goofy looking pokemon is tough! I'm down to my last pokemon"_ May thought to herself as she unclipped her last pokeball _"Once again it's up to you little vato!"_

"What's your next pokemon going to be?" Wattson asked curiously.

"Let's find out" May said as she threw her last pokeball into the air "go little vato!" Out of May's last pokeball came her trusty fire/fighting type. "Busken!" he rasped as he showed off his impressive claws.

"Wahahaha! that looks like a real tough pokemon" Wattson complemented "I better keep on my toes."

"Thanks" May said with a slight blush "he is my toughest pokemon."

"Busken" the young fowl chirped, nodding in agreement.

"Alrighty then, Magneton use Supersonic!" Wattson yelled. Magneton vibrated and used its magnetic powers to create a pulsating wave of confusion that headed straight toward Combusken. "Dodge it!" May yelled. "Busken" Combusken muttered as he nimbly leapt out of the attacks way. "Now use Focus Energy!" May instructed. Hearing this, Combusken closed his eyes and began to teighten his focus to raise his critical-hit ratio.

"Use Tri Attack!" Wattson commanded. Magneton pointed its three outward magnets and began to create a ball of electricity, fire, and ice. Once it seemed to be at its max potential, Magneton released it. It struck Combusken with considerable force, sending the young fowl skidding across the metal floor on his feet.

"Get em back with your Ember!" May yelled. Combusken opened his mouth and let loose with a barrage of fiery projectiles. **_"Neton!"_ **Magneton screeched as the super-effective fire attack struck it hard.

"Follow up with Double Kick!" May directed. Wasting no time, Combusken charged toward Magneton, ready to deliver to powerful kicks.

"Quick use Shock Wave!" Wattson yelled. Magneton used its powerful magnetic and electrical energy to create a powerful storm of electricity that struck everything in the room (except for Wattson. May got shocked a few times). "Busken!" Combusken said, cringing in pain, but kept going with his advance as a few sparks jumped off his body. Wattson and Magneton were both surprised that the Shock Wave had not halted Combusken. They were shocked even more to see Combusken leap into the air straight towards the levitating Magneton.

WHAM

COmbusken's first kick landed squarely in the middle of Magneton, threatening to separate it into three Magnemite once more because of sheer power that Combusken's leg possessed.

WHAM

Another kick, this time to Magneton's head (or I should say the Magnemite on top). This time it sent the magnet pokemon crashing down onto the metal floor with a loud metallic thud. Magneton was knocked out. Combusken jumped back toward May's side of the field as Wattson pulled out Magnton's pokeball and recalled the magnet pokemon. "You did great out there" the electric type gym leader said as he clipped Magneton's pokeball back onto his belt, and pulled out his last one. "Well I must say young lady, not many have brought me down to my last pokemon, but I'm telling you now, not many have defeated him either."

"Let's see how it plays out today" May replied.

"Yes let's" Wattson said as he threw his last pokeball into the air "go Manetric, let's show this young lady our power!" Out of Wattson's last pokeball came a canine-like pokemon with blue and yellow fur (the yellow fur making up his mane and the tufts on his haunches and front feet).

As soon as May saw this pokemon, she started to tremble. Her breathing became heavier and more audible, and her vision became slightly blurry. The canine-like pokemon brought with it painful memories that May tried her best to put in the back of her mind. As she looked upon the Manectric, she couldn't help but notice that he had the same angry look in his eyes that the Houndoom that killed her old friend had when he attacked him all those years before. May tried to shake the memories away.

_"Not now, Oh god please not right now!"_

May tried to concentrate, but the vivid memories were too powerful. All she kept seeing was her friends mangled hand as it squirted blood onto the ground from the severed veins and broken bones.

May hit her head lightly _"c-come on May, get it together."_

"Busken?" Combusken chirped with concern in his voice as he noticed his trainer in obvious distress. Wattson noticed this as well. "H-Honey are you okay?" Wattson asked.

"Uhhh n-no..." May muttered as her legs buckled and she fell to her knees. Combusken Wattson, and Manectric ran to her aid. As May saw Manectric approach her, her heart began to beat violently. She gasped and squirmed away, causing Manectric to halt his advance.

"What's wrong!?" Wattson asked, his worry increasing as the seconds passed.

"I-I-I-I-I-It-I-It-" May stammered as her whole body began to tremble even more. Combusken went toward her and started to pat her on the back, trying his best to comfort his trainer.

"Oh my god, are you having a seizure?!" Wattson gasped as he looked upon May "Oh my, I-I'll get help!" he said as he started for the door.

"D-Don't leave me!" May cried, fearing to be left alone with Manectric "don't leave me alone!"

"O-Okay!" Wattson replied, his anxiety increasing even more "just tell me what I can do to help!"

"M-Manectric" May was able to stammer out.

"What about Manectric?" Wattson asked with worry still in his voice. "I-I don't think I-I c-can finish t-this battle" May stammered once more. "Why?" Wattson asked. "I-I-I just ca-" before May could finish, Combusken interrupted her. "Busken" he said, pointing to the pendant around her neck "Busken."

May looked down and remembered her pendant. She grasped it and closed her eyes, rubbing the cold jade in between her index finger and thumb. _"Calm down May, Calm down May, Calm down May..."_

A still startled Wattson and Manectric looked down at May as she rubbed her pendant with her eyes closed while her Combusken rubbed her back lightly. This was something deeply personal both the gym leader and his pokemon realized, so they left the two challengers alone, looking upon them in silence.

_"Come on May, you made it to his last pokemon, you can't give up now!"_

**_"B-But I-I'm scared..."_**

_"You're better than this May, you're a Mendoza! You have the Mexica blood in you, you can't give up!" _**(A/N: For those of you who do not know, the Mexica are what the Nahua people or the 'Aztecs' actually called themselves. Aztec was the name given to the Nahua people by westerners. They got it from the word aztecatl which means 'people of Aztlan').**

**_"S-So what, I-I can't do this! I-I keep seeing the blood..."_**

_"You've already come so far, why stop now?"_

**_"Y-You're right, I-I can do this. I've come too far already, I can do this!"_**

May opened her eyes and saw Wattson and Manectric looking down at her. Manectric frightened her, but she was determined to finish the gym battle. With the help of her pendant and Combusken, she got back onto her feet (still trembling) and took a deep breath "I-I think I'm ready...'

"Are you sure, you looked like you were about to faint" Wattson said, reluctant to battle May knowing the state she was in. "I-I'm sure" May replied "I-It's just...It's just something that happened a long time ago that I was reminded of when M-Manectric came out."

"Mane" Manectric muttered, unsure of what he had done. Manectric's voice made May jump a little.

"Oh alright then" Wattson said as he scratched the back of his neck "let's resume the battle." He walked to his side of the battlefield with Manectric following close behind and got ready to battle "alright May, whenever you're ready."

Combusken lead May back onto the area where she was suppose to stand. "Thanks little vato" May thanked, patting Combusken's head lightly. Combusken nodded and went back onto the battlefield. May took another deep breath. She realized she still held the jade pendant tightly in her hands. As she looked upon the opposing Manectric, her grip on it became tighter.

"Busken" Combusken whispered to her as if to say "calm down May, we can do this."

May nodded and got a hold of her nerves (sort of) "L-Little vato, u-use Ember."

Immediately Combusken inhaled deeply, and exhaled a searing hot barrage of fiery projectiles that zoomed toward Manectric. "Use Quick Attack to dodge em!" Wattson instructed. Manectric went into action in a flash. He used his incredible speed and priority attack to effortlessly duck under the oncoming Ember, and charge toward Combusken. May gasped, Manectric looked just like that Houdoom when he got out of his cage and charged at Nick!

WHAM

Manectric struck Combusken with impressive force, sending the young fowl back a few paces. Combusken looked toward May for the next set of instructions as Manectric recovered from his strenuous attack.

May tried to think of what to do next, but she faltered mentally. _"w-what do I do? Maybe Scratch? N-no, h-how bout...No that won't work..."_

"Use Thunder Fang!" Wattson yelled. Manectric quickly heeded to his trainers instructions and charged toward Combusken with his fangs bared and crackling with electrical sparks.

"Busken!" Combusken cried in pain as the sharp fangs clamped down on his arm. Manectric then began to shake his head wildly, flailing Combusken side to side. May looked in horror as Manectric executed his assault. Flashing images popped into her mind as Combusken was replaced with her friend Nick, and Manectric was replaced with a Houndoom.

_**"It was all your fault May, ALL YOUR FAULT!"** _

May closed her eyes and shook her head vigorously.

_"N-No it wasn't! I-I didn't do anything, I-It was meant to h-happen!"_

**_"That's your excuse, it was meant to happen? Why don't you take responsibility for your actions!"_**

_"I couldn't do ANYTHING!"_

**_"Bullshit, you could've done something!"_**

_"NO IT'S NOT TRUE DAMNIT!"_

**_"You're letting it happen again you stupid bitch!"_**

May opened her eyes. Her friend Combusken was being overwhelmed by Manectric. She had to do something, she couldn't stand by and watch her pokemon get defeated in front of her eyes like how she stood by and watched her friend get mauled to death. She had to do something!

"E-Ember now!" May shrieked. Combusken opened his beak and shot a barrage of fire at Manetric's face. "Tric!" Manectric cried as he let go of Combusken and jumped back toward Wattson. Combusken lightly rubbed the area where he had bitten, and got ready to fight.

"Use Charge!" Wattson instructed. Manectric started to slid his furry legs together to gather frictional energy and store electrical energy.

_"W-What do I do next!?"_

"Use Discharge!" Wattson yelled. Manectric began to shake violently.

"Uhhhh U-Use Double Kick!" May cried. Combusken charged at Manectric ready to pummel him. As Combusken got into striking distance, Manectric used Discharge, releasing powerful bolts of electricity all across the battlefield, just as Combusken used Double Kick.

WHAM

Combusken kicked Manectric's chin, lifting the electric type's head up.

WHAM

Combusken's next kick struck Manectric's neck, sending the powerful electric type skidding back toward Wattson. Combusken himself fell on all fours as the full strength of the Discharge finally took effect on him. Both pokemon struggled to get back up.

"Bus..."

"Tric..."

Manectric tried to get back up, but fell back onto the floor knocked out.

"...Ken..." Combusken muttered as he fell to the floor knocked out right after Manectric.

...

...

"Return Manectric" Wattson said as he recalled his defeated pokemon. As soon as Manectric was out of sight, she felt a sense of relief. Her muscles eased and she unclenched her clasp on her pendant, only to feel a sharp stinging pain in her hand. She ignored the pain and ran over to her knocked out Combusken.

"Are you okay little vato?" May asked as she picked up (with some trouble) and held her Combusken in her arms. Combusken was silent because he was knocked out. May soon realized this and petted his head gently. She pulled out a Combusken's pokeball and recalled him "good job little vato, you did amazing."

"Wahahahaha!" Wattson laughed "My word young lady, I haven't had a battle like that in years!" he praised panting, "you have to be the toughest challenger I've ever faced!"

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from you sir" May said sincerely.

"I'm just sorry my Manectric made you so scared" Wattson said patting her shoulder "why did he by the way?"

"Oh uh I-I don't like to talk about it" May replied looking to the floor.

"I understand" Wattson replied as he took his hand off May's shoulder and reached into his pocket "well since you won, you've have earned this" he pulled out a gym badge and handed it to May "here you go, it's the Dynamo Badge!"

"Thanks!" May said as she lifted her hand to grab the gym, but realized her hand was bleeding. Wattson noticed this as well. "O-Oh my god!" Wattson gasped "what happened!?" May stared silently at her hand in shock _"oh my god, d-did I do this?"_

"I-I think I was holding my pendant too tightly" May muttered as she saw the clean cut through the glove and into the flesh on her hand. "Young lady you need to put something on that, ley me get you something" Wattson said as he pulled out a rag from his pocket and wrapped it around May's hand. "Thank you" May thanked as Wattson handed May the Dynamo Badge to her none bleeding hand.

"Well I guess I should be leaving now, thank you for letting me battle your gym" May said as she started to exit the gym. "Goodbye honey and good luck on your journey!" Wattson said joyfully "and clean that wound up okay!"

"Yes sir" May said as she exited the gym. Once again May found herself on Mauville's streets. She reached into her fanny pack and pulled out her gym case to place the Dynamo Badge in it. Once she did that, she made her way to the Mauville City pokemon center.

* * *

May soon found the pokemon center and entered. She walked toward the counter. "Hello young lady how can I help you?" The Nurse Joy behind the counter asked with a big smile on her face.

"Can you please heal my pokemon" May said as she handed Nurse Joy her pokeballs. "Of course dear, I'll have them back in tip-top shape in no time" Nurse Joy replied as she took May's pokeballs and placed them in a healing apparatus.

"Thank you Nurse Joy" May thanked "ummm do you have any alcohol or hydrogen peroxide?"

"Oh yes of course dear" Nurse Joy said as she reached under the counter and pulled out a bottle of alcohol and handed it to May. "Thank you" May said as she took the alcohol and went into the bathroom. Once inside, May went over to the sink and took of her bloody glove and surveyed the damage. The sharp jade pendant had cut right into the flesh leaving a hanging flap of bleeding skin. May opened the alcohol and poured some of it onto the wound. She grimaced slightly at the stinging pain. Once the wound was nice and disinfected, May wrapped the rag back onto her hand and put the cap onto the alcohol bottle. She took off her other glove realizing she would look silly with just it on and placed them both into her fanny pack. She grabbed the alcohol bottle and went back into the lounge.

"May your pokemon are fully healed!" Nurse Joy called out, and May went to the counter to pick them up. "Thank you ma'am" May said as she clipped them onto her belt "um ma'am, do you know where Verdanturf Town is?" May asked.

"Oh yes" Nurse Joy replied "it's just west of Mauville, if you walk down Route 117 you'll reach it."

"Thank you" May said nodding politely and headed out of the center.

* * *

"Alright Route 117..." May muttered as she pulled out her pokenav and looked for Route 117. "There it" she mumbled as she found it on the pokenav. May placed her pokenav into her fanny pack and started down road toward Route 117.

_"Next stop Verdanturf" _May thought to herself _"it'll be nice to see Wally again." _Yet as she thought this, she didn't feel any sense of enjoyment our excitement. All that she could feel was a disturbing sense of self loathing.

**Hello everyone, N-Badger97 speaking. So May has her third badge now, and she's heading to Verdanturf. What did you all think of the battle did you like it? I hope you did. **

**Here are some tracks I listened to while I wrote this:**

**I Wish ****by Skee-lo**

**Small Victory by Faith No More**

**Fantastic Voyage ****by Coolio**

**Beautiful Disaster by 311**


	20. Deteriorating

**Chapter 21: Deteriorating**

Wide and awe-inspiringly beautiful. That's how you would describe Route 117. The sun shinning down from the clear blue sky helped bring everything into view. The dirt road was flanked by grass and pretty wildflowers growing without any sign of human disturbance. Beyond the road were beautiful fields of tall grass rustling with life and activity, and even beyond that stood the tall mountains of central Hoenn, looking over everything in all their majesty. Yet amongst all the natural beauty stood a lone somber figure walking down the road toward Route 117. The lone figure trudged along looking toward her injured hand with a frown. The rag was caked with dry blood, a testament to how sharp May's pendant was. But that was not what bothered May. What bothered May was what happened in the Mauville gym.

_"That Manectric...I-It made me a trembling mess. Combusken, I-I could barely help him...I-I faltered and hesitated like, like...Fuck I thought I was over all this! Why the fuck does this keep happening? I try my best not to think about it, but it keeps fucking surfacing!"_

May gritted her teeth and placed her face into her palms _"what the fuck is wrong with me?!" _She shook her head vigorously _"come on May get it together, stop thinking about it, it's all in the past. What matters is the future. Just gotta keep going. Everything will work out in the end, it has to..."_

May sighed and shook her head once again. Even though she kept telling herself to forget about what happened in the Mauville gym, the incident appearing in the back of her mind. Her faltering, her hesitating, watching helplessly like a coward while her Combusken got overwhelmed, like what happened to her friend...Could it happen again? May didn't want to answer that question.

_"Look missy, just focus on the task at hand. Reaching Verdanturf so you can visit Wally." _May shook her head, agreeing with herself and continued heading west toward Verdanturf Town.

* * *

**45 Minutes Later...**

After walking for what seemed like forever, May finally found looking onto Verdanturf Town, a community nestled in between the mountain ranges of Central Hoenn from the North, South, and West. May smiled as she looked upon the small town, it really gave off a heart warming feeling of community and family. Verdanturf was small and quaint, with only about eighteen residential homes and a pokemon center. Its most distinguishing aspect however was how clean the air was, it could almost be described as healthy and life giving. May took a deep whiff and a huge smile came across her face. "Couldn't be purer even if it joined a convent" she giggled, forgetting the troubling thoughts that had accompanied her while she was walking.

May soon found herself walking down the streets of Verdanturf. She soon realized she had no idea where Wally lived. _"Hmmm, how the hell am I going to find Wally's house?" _she pondered as she looked up and down the sidewalk _"hey, this place is real small, so I'm guessing everybody here is close knit. Somebody should know where Wally lives. I just need to find someone..." _As May thought this, she saw a man walking on the sidewalk.

"Umm excuse me" May called out "can I ask you a question?"

"Of course" the man said with a smile "how can I help you?"

"Do you know a boy named Wally?" May asked "he has green hair, pale skin, and he's kinda frail."

"Oh yeah I know him" the man said "he lives with his uncle at the last house on the left." **(A/N: Can anyone guess what I'm referencing here? Come on, it's pretty straightforward!)**

"Thanks" May thanked as he followed the man's directions and made her way to the last house on the left of the street. She soon found herself looking upon a white Victorian house decorated with flowers ranging from roses to marigolds on the windowsills and the perimeter of the house. May walked up to the front door and knocked twice.

_Knock_

_Knock_

"Coming" came a feminine voice from within the house. Footsteps were heard, and the door opened revealing a smiling lady with brown hair wearing an apron. "Hello young lady, what can I do for you?"

Before May could answer, another voice from within the house interrupted her. "Honey who is it?" said the other voice. "A pretty girl asking for Wally" the lady answered back. "Oh that's probably May, let her in" the other voice said. The woman nodded and turned toward May "come on in honey" she said as she let May in.

"This is our living room" the lady said. May gave the room the once over. Fairly big, plain, hardwood floors, a couch, and a T.V nothing out of the ordinary. "It's real nice" May complemented, bringing a smile to the lady's face. "Hey there May" Wally's uncle said as he came into the living room from what May assumed was the kitchen because of the mouth watering aroma coming from it.

"Hello, it's nice to see you again sir" May greeted. "It's nice to see you again May" the uncle said as he walked over toward the lady and put his arm around her waist and gave her a peck on her cheek "I see you've met my beautiful wife."

"Oh stop" the lady giggled "you're making me flustered." May smiled at the married couples actions, she thought it was cute.

"Oh alright" Wally's uncle said as he released his wife so she could go back into the kitchen and continue cooking. "Hey Wally!" the uncle yelled "May's here!"

May heard excited footsteps and soon Wally and Kirlia came into view, bringing a smile to May's face. She was happy to see them both. "Hi May!" Wally said happily. "Kirlia!" Kirlia greeted, having fully recovered from her earlier battle with Skitty.

"Hey Wally" May said giving him a hug, making Wally chuckle "and hey to you too Kirlia" May said releasing Wally and giving Kirlia a hug. Kirlia returned the gesture warmly.

"So May" the uncle said getting May's attention "I was wondering if you would like to join us all for dinner, would you like that?"

"I would love that" May replied.

"That's great!" the uncle said, "well the food won't be ready till 6:00" he turned to Wally "Why don't you show May around town until the food is ready."

"Okay!" Wally said enthusiastically "come on May let's go" he said as he held the door open for May. "Thanks" May thanked as she went through the door with Wally and Kirlia following close behind.

* * *

Soon Wally was walking with May down the street of Verdanturf. "That's Ms. Donnavan's house, she can tell you how much your pokemon likes you" Wally said as he pointed at house that was almost identical to Wally's uncle's house. "Kirlia!" Kilira said as she tugged at Wally's pants playfully "Oh yeah, and she said me and Kirlia are best of friends!" Wally added. "That's nice" May said "oh and that's Nurse Joy's house, she usually isn't there because she usually stays at the pokemon center." May nodded as she continued to listen to Wally.

'Speaking of pokemon, did you beat the gym leader in Mauville?" Wally asked. _"Oh great, he had to ask about that" _May said internally as she was once again reminded of her failure to act, her shame. "Oh uh I won" May muttered, her voice giving of a hint of loathing.

"That's awesome!" Wally praised "you're such a great trainer...I want to be just like you someday." Those words stung May _"oh please don't say that, you're setting your bar so low."_

"Wally...don't say that" May said in almost a whisper. Wally stopped in his tracks "w-why?"

"Because" May started "because I'm not a good trainer, you could do so much better than me."

"What are you saying?" Wally said confused "you have three badges, you're a great trainer."

"No I'm not, just trust me on this one" May replied, the incident back in Mauville flooding back into her mind. How she trembled when she should've been directing Combusken to victory, but no, she watched as he got overwhelmed. She didn't beat that gym, he did. She only watched, just like she watched her friend die.

"But if you're no good, that means I'm even worse..." Wally muttered, his head looking toward the ground.

"No" May muttered "I'm nothing special, but...you are." Wally was silent for awhile "why are you saying this?"

"Because it's true" May replied "I-I'm no good, if you only knew..."

"W-What happened?" Wally asked with puppy dog eyes.

"Nothing" May replied evading Wally's question "look, why don't you show me around town a little more."

"...okay" Wally whispered. Wally continued walking with Kirlia by his side and May following behind him.

* * *

Soon they passed all the homes and reached the entrance to a cave. "This is the end of the tour I guess..." Wally chuckled half heartedly "this is the Rusturf Tunnel, it was suppose to connect Rustboro City and Verdanturf so people don't have to cross the sea from Route 104 and land in Slateport to get to Mauville, but the machines that they were using to make the tunnel were disturbing the pokemon living there, so they discontinued the project indefinitely."

"Oh yeah, I think I remember this tunnel" May muttered, remembering her time in Rustboro "hehe, that stupid Aqua grunt..."

"There is however one man he keeps trying to dig through the tunnel" Wally continued. "Who?" May asked. "My cousin Wanda's boyfriend, he picks at the rock wall dividing the tunnel all day just so he can see her. My cousin usually waits there for most of the day hoping he'll burst through one of these days..."

May was silent, she was deep in thought _"rock wall he said..." _

"Uhh May are you okay?" Wally asked slightly disturbed "you have a real creepy look on your face."

"You know, I think I could take that rock wall down" May said bluntly. "R-Really?" Wally muttered scratching his head "how?"

"You'll see" was all May said as she entered the tunnel. "I hope she knows what she's doing" Wally whispered to Kirlia as he followed May into the tunnel. "Kirlia" Kirlia whispered back, following Wally into the dark tunnel.

* * *

The tunnel was dark, damp, and rugged. May had no idea how Wally's cousin Wanda could wait in the darkness for hours, day in and day out without going mad. "I guess love can prevail over everything" May muttered as she tried to keep from falling down with the little light from the sun that reached inside the cave which only grew fainter the farther she went. Luckily for her, she finally reached the end of the tunnel and found Wanda sitting on a rock with her legs crossed, and her hands on her lap.

"Oh hello" Wanda greeted. "Hello" May replied. "I didn't expect anybody to come into the cave at this time, especially a stranger."

"Well it's no coincidence" May replied Justas Wally and Kirlia caught up to her. "Hey there cousin Wally" Wanda said as soon as she saw Wally "and hi there Kirlia."

"Kirlia" Kirlia said as she waved to Wanda.

"So cousin Wally, is this your girlfriend?" Wanda asked with a mischievous smile forming across her face, making May blush slightly. "No" Wally replied, not fazed by the comment "this is my friend May, she's here to break this wall down for you."

"Really!" Wanda exclaimed "oh I would be in debt to you if you could!"

"That won't be necessary" May chuckled, referring to the debt "it would be my pleasure."

_"Besides, I need to do at least one thing right today."_

May unclipped one of the pokeballs on her belt and threw it into the air "come on out Aron." Out of the pokeball came a red swirl of energy that composed itself into May's steel/rock type pokemon. "Aron!" he cried, tense and ready to battle. But when he saw there were no opponent, he quickly eased.

"No battles right now, we're going to do us a little public service" May told Aron. Aron nodded and got ready to do whatever May told him. "Use your Headbutt on that rock wall" May said, pointing to the rock wall.

Aron followed his trainer's instructions, and slammed headfirst onto the wall, not breaking it, but it did start to form spider line cracks across the surface. Aron shook his head to get ready for more.

"Try one more time" May instructed "just don't exert yourself okay."

"Ron" Aron replied as he heaved himself against the rock wall headfirst once more. This time however, the rock wall finally gave way and crashed down, sending a cloud of dirt into the air. Once the cloud subsided, it revealed a muscular man in worker's jumpsuit holding a chisel and a hammer.

"Bill!" Wanda exclaimed as she ran toward the man with outstretched arms. "Wanda!" the man proclaimed as he embraced Wanda into his arms, and the two planted a love-filled kiss onto the others mouth with a passion that had been bottled up for quite some time.

"Yuck" Wally muttered as he looked away. Kirlia did the same. May looked at the couple and smiled, but soon her smile faded and she went back to her somber state of mind. She had done a good thing, yet she still felt like crap. She lifted her gaze away from the couple and toward her Aron who was staring at the couple.

"You okay buddy?" May asked, getting Aron's attention. Aron nodded, reassuring May he was fine. May did her best to smile as she rubbed his head lightly. It was at that moment she started to feel a pain in her head.

"Thank you ma'am thank you!"

May gasped and felt her head worsen. She felt someone take her hand and shake it vigorously. She looked up to see Bill was the one shaking her hand. "Thank you, now I can spend time with Wanda anytime I want!"

"It was my pleasure" May said with a slightly pained voice which made her words come out in a rasp. "Yes thank you May, you are just the best!" Wanda chimed in, easing herself into her boyfriend's proximity as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Like I said before, it was my pleasure" May said as she placed one hand on her aching head, and unclipped Aron's pokeball with the other "come back buddy, you've been a real help." And with that, Aron was back in his pokeball.

"Thanks little guy" Bill said as he tapped Aron's pokeball with his index finger as May clipped it back onto her belt.

"Hey everyone, it's almost six o' clock" Wally informed everyone "dinner's almost ready, we should head back home."

"I am pretty hungry" Bill said rubbing his tummy. "Me too" Wanda said "Let's start heading back."

"You know I don't think I'll be able to join you to dinner" May said holding her head "my head is really hurting, I think I need to sleep it off."

"Really?" Wally said disappointed "but you pro-oh forget it, I understand. I'll tell my uncle why you couldn't come, I hope you feel better."

"Thanks Wally" May said as she give him a hug. She then kneeled down to face Kirlia "bye Kirlia, it was nice seeing you again."

"Kirlia" Kirlia nodded as she gave May a hug. Once she released May, she turned to the loving couple "goodbye."

"Goodbye May" they both waved "hope you feel better." May nodded and turned toward Wally "I'm sorry about all this..."

"It's no problem, just get some rest, you've had a long day" he replied.

May smiled, Wally was so understanding. May patted him on his shoulder and made her way out of the tunnel, with Wally and the others following close behind.

* * *

May stepped out of the tunnel. The sun was setting behind the majestic central Hoenn mountains, bathing the quint town in an orange glow. May would've appreciated the sight longer, but her head was starting to worsen. She stumbled torward the pokemon center, her head pounding harder and harder with each step.

May burst through the pokemon center's doors, struggling to keep herself from falling as the headache became almost overwhelming.

"Hello how can I-are you okay?" Nurse Joy asked. "No, can I please have a room" May said, clutching her throbbing head tightly. Nurse Joy nodded and quickly handed her a room key. "Thanks" May muttered as she stumbled toward her room, still holding her head. Once she entered her room, she threw herself into the bed, not caring to get undressed or shower, her head would not allow it. The headache became stronger and stronger, so much so, that poor May began to moan in pain.

_"Oh god what's happening, this has never happened before! I-It hurts, I-It hurts too much!"_

May tried closing her eyes to go to sleep, but the pain was overwhelming. What was she going to do? She needed sleep, but she couldn't. "C-Care Package" she said aloud as she ripped off her fanny pack and started to frantically search for the weed that Larry had given her back in Dewford Town. Finally she found it.

"Yes!" she proclaimed as she pulled the baggy and a lighter from her fanny pack, and grabbed a tissue from the dresser. She put some of the weed on the tissue and rolled it up into a blunt. With a shaky hand, she lit the lighter and placed the small flame on the end of the blunt. Once it was lit, she placed her lips on the other end and inhaled deeply. It was a challenge to keep the chronic in her lungs while her head pounded like a tribal drum, but she had to do this, she _needed _this. After a few more relaxing puffs, her head slowly started to ease. Her muscles relaxed and she went into a calm state. Her eyes slowly started to close.

"Now, I can sleep..."

...

...

...

* * *

_**"Wake up"**_

...

...

...

_**"WAKE UP!"**_

_May opened her eyes. She slowly lifted herself upright and looked around. The sun shined high above her, lighting her surrounding. A narrow graffiti ridden passage full of trash and abandoned shopping carts._

_She was in an alley in South Goldenrod._

_"H-How did I get here?" May muttered to herself as she lifted herself off the ground and dusted herself off. She walked out of the alley and onto a street, a street with cracked sidewalks, garbage in the gutters, and dog crap decorating the grass lining the sidewalks. A familiar street._

_"I've been here before."_

_May started to walk, she did not know where to, but her body did. She walked and walked, the feeling familiarity ever increasing._

_Suddenly she stopped in front of a house, an old beaten up excuse for a house. May knew it all too well._

_"Oh no, not this place, please no"_

_May tried to walk away, but her feet were not listening. She started to walk to the front door, becoming frantic with each step._

_"Stop Stop!"_

_Her legs didn't stop._

_"PLEASE STOP!"_

_She reached the front door. Her hand grabbed the knob._

_"DIOS POR FAVOR AYUDAME!"_

_The knob slowly turned, its creaking sounded like the reapers scythe dragging along a metal floor._

_"AYUDAME!"_

_The door opened, and everything went dark_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_"LOOK AWAY MAY, LOOK AWAY!"_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_"GET OFF YOU FUCKING MUTT, GET OFF!"_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_"MY HAND, OH GOD MY HAND!"_

_..._

_..._

_..._

**_"Wake up May"_**

_May opened her eyes._

_"What's going on?"_

_The reply was an ominous chuckling **"You know what's going on."**_

_The voice that made that statement made her cringe. It was dark, deep, raspy, and had no life in it, like the voice of someone stricken with a serious illness. _

_May looked up to see who or what had made the statement. She gasped when she saw what it was._

_A dark silhouette, it had the form of a man, but it was nothing but darkness. Pitch black with no features, just a shape._

_"W-What are you?"_

**_"You know what I am"_**

_"No I don't"_

**_"Hehehehe, yes you do!"_**

_"No I fucking don't!"_

**_"Denying it, you deny a lot of things. That's why I'm here."_**

_"What am I denying huh, tell me please cause I don't know what the FUCK is going on!"_

**_"You've been denying what you know is the truth for a long time, about a year now. You think you can forget, but you can't, you won't. This charade will only end in devastation. I won't say what you know already, but I'll be right here waiting every night. You've finally woken up the monster May, now you'll have to face em. Maybe not now, but soon. There is no other way, but we both know that."_**

_"What is this about huh, Nick?! It wasn't my fault damnit! He's dead, it was meant to be! People live and people fucking die, it's how the world works!"_

**_"You don't have to lecture me on how the world works Chiquita, but this isn't about life and death. Deep down you know this, you just don't want to deal with the truth yet. No worries though, you will face it soon enough."_**

_And with that, everything went black once more._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_"OH GOD MY ARM!"_

_The darkness faded away, and May was faced with the scene once again, her greatest shame. Before her, Diablo the Houndoom stood on top of Nick mauling his hand apart. Her younger self sat on the ground and just watched, unable to move a muscle._

_"DO SOMETHING!" May yelled at herself._

_Still young May did nothing, blood splattered across the floor._

_"LOOK AWAY!" Nick cried._

_"DO SOMETHING!"_

* * *

May gasped and opened her eyes. She was lying down on a bed, sweaty and panting heavily. "I-It was just a dream" May told herself, yet it didn't feel like just a dream. May looked over toward the alarm clock.

8pm

"I've been asleep for only two hours!?" May cried as she placed her hands over her face "what the fuck is happening to me?!"

She lifted herself off her bed and rushed into her bathroom and turned on the sink faucet. The water drained out of the faucet, the swirling and whoosing of the water magnified in her ears. She quickly grabbed a handful of water and splashed it onto her face. She quickly turned the faucet off so as to not here the maddening noises of the life giving liquid. May looked at herself in the mirror. For some reason, she didn't recognize herself. Same hair, same eyes, same cute face, but she did not see herself.

"You need to calm down" she told herself sternly as she pointed to her reflection. She still didn't feel calm. What was she going to do? She wasn't going back to sleep again, not after what happened. "I know, I-I'll shower!" she proclaimed "that's it, I'll shower!" May opened the shower curtains and turned the shower on. Not wasting time to adjust the temperature, she ripped off her clothes and threw her naked form into the cold water, letting the liquid hit her skin. Yes the shower would calm her!

_Pitter Patter_

_Pitter Patter_

The droplets hitting the floor rang in her ears like the irritating vibrations of someone hitting a triangle. The cold water made her tense and freeze.

"AHHHH!" May screamed as she pulled at her hair "what the FUCK!" She quickly cleansed herself and turned off the shower. She wrapped a towel around herself and stumbled out of the bathroom and onto her bed, burying her face into the covers. "What's happening to me?" she kept asking herself this throughout the night, alone only wrapped in her towel.

"What's happening to me?"

**Hello readers, N-Badger97 here to say (to all you fellow Americans) Happy Late 4th of July! I hope you all had a good time, cause I did sort of. The 4th was a mixed bag for me. So my family and I went to Knotts Berry Farm to see the fireworks. Look I love the 4th and spending time with my family, but going to a theme park on the 4th was NOT a good idea. The lines were long, and there were so many damn people with no fucking courtesy. I mean, I'm standing in line for rides right, and you got motherfuckers behind you breathing down your neck and bumping into you. Have they ever heard personal space? The line isn't going to move faster with you getting all up on me and shit. I swear, my ghetto side was telling me to turn around and just clock motherfuckers in their fucking jaw. Yeah I know it sounds mean, but in the wild you wouldn't do that shit. You do that shit in the wild, you get your ass kicked or fucking killed. But I digress. The fireworks were pretty sweet, but we had to wait to ten to see em. Even then though, they whole experience was tainted by the playing of crappy pop music which to me was a disgrace to the 4th and the flag. My 4th of July experience got better when we got home (at 11:30 at night) however, because my good old ghetto neighbors were shooting off their illegal Mexican fireworks. I swear, they can really come through for you at times. After watching the patriotic fervor bursting in the air, I fell victim to the sandman. So that was my 4th of July, how was yours? You can tell me all about it via review or PM if you want. Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you enjoyed!**

**As a way of redeeming the flag after the whole pop music fiasco, my playlist today will be of good ol' traditional patriotic music**

**Stars and Stripes Forever.**

**You're a Grand Old Flag.**

**The Battle Hymn of the Republic**

**Halls of Montezuma (I know, they spelled MOCTEZUMA wrong).**

**Dixie's Land (This is a Confederate song, and I don't agree with any of the views they had, but I have respect for them. Why you ask? Well because they fought for what they believed in, albeit it was something I think was wrong, but they deserve respect cause fighting for what you believe in is as American as it gets). **


	21. Into the Badlands

**Into the Badlands**

"It's six in the morning" May muttered as she felt the morning sun's warm rays hit her exposed shoulders and back.

"Ten hours...It's been ten hours...I've been awake for ten hours..." she muttered to herself as she continued to sit on the soft plushy bed, holding up her bath towel to cover her breasts from no one in particular. Ten hours, for ten hours May had sat unmoving, too scared to fall asleep, afraid of what was coming. Sitting in total silence for ten hours, it was one of the worst experiences in her life. Waiting and waiting, the only things that accompanied her were the far off cries of nocturnal pokemon and the moonlight that flooded her room, a spotlight for her. Most of the time it was just silence though, her and her own personal spotlight provided by the moon. At times it seemed almost too unreal, and she was afraid she was asleep. What came with sleep terrified her even more. So she would sit in silence, waiting for the nightmares to torment her. Silence...nothing stirred...the wait would kill her. After some time, she realized she was still awake and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she waited some more, until she began to doubt herself again, and another period of horror awaited her. This continued in intervals for what seemed like an eternity to May. She feared she was going insane. But now the sun had come, she had made it through the night.

Not making a noise, May lifted herself off the bed and stood up. There she stood, silent and in thought. Sure she had got through the night this time, but what about tonight? and the next night, and the next night...

May put her face in her hands (in the process dropping her towel) _"Why is this happening to me?"_

Silence...

After the somber moment, May pulled her clothes from her fanny pack and started to get dressed. After five minutes, she was back in her usual attire, the only things left were her bandanna and pendant. She gazed at them for awhile. She picked up the pendant and stared at it, pleading for it to help her.

It didn't.

After fastening her bandanna onto her head, she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She pulled out a toothbrush and toothpaste from her fanny pack, and placed the minty substance into her mouth. _Brush Brush Brush._ This went on for three minutes. Soon May was done. She spit the paste into the sink, and looked toward the faucet. She was reluctant to turn the water on. The amplified pitter patter of the water ringing in her ears, torturing her ear drums...good god, she couldn't even turn on a faucet! What the fuck was happening to her?!

After a moment of hesitation, May got her trembling hand over the faucet and turned the knobs. A stream of water came out. Luckily for her, the noise was not amplified. May breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe the amplification was a result of the marijuana, or the headache, maybe the sleep deprivation...whatever, it didn't matter, it wasn't happening now.

She scooped a handful of water with her hands and placed some in her mouth to gargle and rinse. Her hands were placed once again under the stream to capture a handful to splash onto her face.

"Ahhhhhh..."

Once she was done wetting her face, she picked her head up and stared into the mirror. What she saw was a broken young girl with dark bags under her eyes, paled skin, and droopy eyelids slightly obscuring her red eyes. This wasn't her, it couldn't be. May Maple Mendoza was a tough independent young woman. The reflection looking back at her looked like a beat up crack whore. May looked into the reflection for quite a while until she could not stand looking at it anymore, and broke her gaze away from it. She put her toothbrush and toothpaste away and exited her room.

* * *

May found herself in the Verdanturf Pokémon Center's lobby, the pristine white walls shooting off glare from the sun directly into her eyes...or maybe she was imagining it? She did not know, she wasn't sure of anything anymore. May walked up to the counter.

"Why hello, is your head feeling better?" Nurse Joy asked with closed eyes and a warm smile. "Yeah it's feeling better" May replied truthfully. It was feeling better...physically. "That's great news dear" Nurse Joy said as she opened her eyes "so dear, what do yo-uhhhh a-are you okay?" the friendly nurse asked, seeing May's downtrodden face and sleepless eyes "you don't look well."

"I'm fine, really" May lied, not wanting to discuss what was going on internally because...well because even she had no idea what was going on "can you just tell me where the next gym is?"

"O-Of course dear" Nurse Joy replied, still worried about May's well being "It's in Lavaridge Town, just north of Mauville. Head down Route 111, and you'll come across a fork in the road. One leads further up Route 111 which will take you to a desert. The other will lead you to Route 112 and a cable car station. The cable car station will take you up to the top of Mt. Chimney. From there you can make a descent down the jagged path until you reach Lavaridge."

"Okay, thank you ma'am" May said, trying her best to smile (even though she didn't feel like it). "Anytime dear" Nurse Joy said with a smile "just be careful in that area of Hoenn honey, they don't call it Hoenn's Badlands for no reason."

"Okay I will" May nodded as she headed out of the center.

* * *

Once again May was bathed in the sun's stifling rays as she stepped outside. _"Well I guess I should start heading to Lavaridge." _May started down the dirt path that lead out of Verdnturf when a thought crossed her mind _"Hey maybe I should go say goodbye to Wally and his family, and apologize for not joining them for dinner." _With that, May turned around and made her way down the street lined with Verdanturf's residential homes, making her way to Wally's uncle's house.

Soon May found herself at the front door of the pretty Victorian styled home. She knocked three times

_Knock_

_Knock_

_Knock_

After a short pause, the door opened revealing Wally's aunt. "Hell-" May started, but was quickly interrupted.

"YOU!" the aunt said angrily "how dare you show you're god damn face around here!" May was shocked, she had no idea what she had done "wha-I-wha?"

"I don't know what ideas you put into Wally's head, but he's left!" the aunt screamed. This was surprising news to May "he left?"

"Yes he left, said he was going on a journey with his Kirlia. Do you know what will happen when I tell his parents I have no idea where he is?" May opened her mouth to reply, but the aunt interrupted her "no you don't, you just open that big fucking mouth of yours to poison my nephews head! I hope he never sees you again!"

"Ma'am, I didn't d-"

"Get out!" the aunt cried one last time as she slammed the door leaving May shaken and disoriented. It took a while for May to process what happened. _"Wally's gone...me, I-I did it? That can't be true right...Or did I?" _she shook her head and started to walk away _"fuck I can't deal with this shit right now!" _As May walked away, she heard the door open and footsteps approach her. She turned around to see who it was. It was Wally's uncle.

"May wait!"

May stopped and prepared herself for another tongue lashing. "I'm sorry about my wife, she really doesn't mean that. She's just really worried about Wally is all."

"I could tell" May muttered. Wally's uncle put his hand on her shoulder "Look I know Wally running away was not your fault. He's been wanting to go off on his own ever since he got that pokemon. Besides, I'm actually kind of glad he left. I think traveling with his pokemon will be really good for him."

"So your not mad at me?"

"Of course not" the uncle replied with a smile, but as he looked into May's eyes and at her face, his smile went away "umm May are you okay? you look terrible."

May looked to the floor. She wanted to tell him that she was not okay, and that she felt like she was falling apart, but she didn't. She figured that spilling out everything was not going to make her better, it'll just have someone feeling sorry for her. Besides, the man had enough problems. "I'm fine, just a little sick is all."

"Oh, well I hope you feel better" the uncle said as he turned around to head back inside "goodbye."

"Goodbye" May muttered "...and I'm sorry I couldn't join you for dinner last night."

The uncle turned around once more "No need to be sorry about that, seeing how sick you are, it's no wonder you had to skip dinner."

May gave a weak smile "thanks for understanding." The uncle nodded and finally went back inside his house. May sighed and once again went on her way, heading back east down Route 117 to Mauville.

* * *

**45 Minutes Later...**

"Here I am again, Mauville City" May mumbled as she walked down the kept sidewalks of Mauville, passing by the many areas of leisure Mauville provided, and through the many teens and pre-teens that littered Mauville looking for a good time. May continued to walk aimlessly, she knew she was looking for Route 111, the road Nurse Joy had told her to take, but her mind was not fully there. The lack of sleep and the haunting memories were gradually taking their toll. May started to feel like a walking zombie stumbling down Mauville.

_"Route 111...where is it? Am I even looking for it?..should I get supplies? I haven't slept for hours, need sleep. No can't sleep, you know what comes with it."_

"Ahhh, Gulpin let go!" cried a familiar voice. May turned toward the voice. As soon as she saw who it was, a smile spread across her face, and she began to feel some tension ease of her mind. It was her friend Brendan and his pokemon, standing near a water fountain (made to resemble a Gyarados shooting water from its mouth) and feeding his pokemon, well trying to feed his pokemon.

"Come on Gulpin, these bowls are expensive!"

May looked toward the ground and saw a pokemon she had never seen before. It was green and round, and had Brendan's hand in his mouth. May figured he had just caught it recently. Brendan's other pokemon, his former Mudkip now turned Marshtomp, Zigzagoon, and Seedot stood around him in a semi circle giggling at Gulpin's antics. Finally after some struggle, Brendan pulled his hand out, which was revealed to have been clinging onto a bowl.

"I'm getting paper plates for you" Brendan grumbled to Gulpin as he flicked his wrist to get some of Gulpin's slime off his hand.

"I see you made a new friend" May said as cheerful as she could, given her current state of mind.

Brendan looked up, and as soon as he saw May, a smile formed across his face "hey May, it's nice to see you again!"

"It's nice to see you again too!" May replied, flashing him a smile as she walked over to Gulpin and started to pet him. Gulpin welcomed May's gentle touch happily "sweet little thing isn't he" she said, looking up toward Brendan.

"He sure is...when he doesn't have your hand in his mouth. He may be small, but he has an endless appetite, and I mean _endless_. It can be troublesome at times, a real strain on the budget. I don't mind though, he's real nice. I just got him yester-" Brendan stopped midsentence when he got a better look at May "May are you okay? I mean you don't look well. Your eyes are red and you look...paler, even though you have brown skin..."

"I'm fine" May lied as she stood up "just a little sick is all, nothing to worry about."

"If you say so..." Brendan muttered, not entirely believing her. Something was not right, she was usually more giddy and energetic, and he was sure she was tough enough to not let some illness affect her mood. No it was something else and he knew it, but he did not know what it was, so he left it alone. "Anyways, it's good to see you again. Hey did you beat the gym here?"

May felt a surge of tension run through her being, yet again she was reminded of what happened in the Mauville gym. "Yes I beat it..." she trailed off.

"That's great!" Brendan proclaimed "you're just blazing through the gyms, it won't be long till you've beaten them all!"

"Yeah..." May muttered half-heartedly. The truth was she didn't feel as if she was able to walk properly, let alone beat any gyms. Yet she was still going after them, cause it was something to look towards, a goal she could try and reach, something to get her mind off everything. So far it hadn't been working, the evidence in her haunting dreams and memories worsening, but she needed something to go after, hope that all the memories and dreams would stop tormenting her.

"Hey uh have you and your pokemon had any breakfast?" Brendan asked. May shook her head "I just came from Verdanturf, we haven't eaten anything."

"Jeez that's a long walk" Brendan exclaimed "you must be tired! How bout we feed our pokemon, then you and I could get something to eat?"

May smiled (the best she could) "I would love to, but I'm just not hungry."

"Oh, so you're going on a diet too" Brendan chuckled "come on, that's a forty five minute walk you've just been don't feel at least a little hungry?" May shook her head. Brendan sighed "May, it will be good to get something in your tummy. It might help with your current ailment."

"Brendan really, I'm not hungry" May replied.

"Where is May, and what have you done with her?" Brendan said half joking, and half serious because this was not the May he was familiar with. May chuckled softly to try and give off a sense that nothing was wrong "it's me Brendan, but I'm not hungry."

"Okay, if you say so" Brendan said, giving up trying to get May to have breakfast with him "how about you're pokemon, are they hungry?"

"Probably" May replied, "but I don't have pokefood, I need to go buy some."

"You don't need to do that" Brendan said as he pulled out a jar of pokeball, and a bowl (the other was full of Gulpin's saliva) from his backpack "they can have some of mine, it will save you money, and a trip to the store."

"Thanks Brendan, you're the best" May said with a smile, causing a pink tint to form on his cheeks. He opened the jar and poured the contents into the bowl as May unclipped two pokeballs from her belt and threw them into the air. Out of these two pokeballs came her Combusken and Aron. They both stretched out languidly and observed their surroundings. "Combusken They greeted May cheerfully, and then turned to Brendan and his pokemon, and greeted them cheerfully. "Now for the other two" May muttered as she unclipped the last two pokeballs from her belt and threw them into the air. Out of the red and white spheres came May's Beautifly and Skitty. "Skit!" "Beaut!" they cried, happy to see May, Brendan, and the other pokemon...well until Beautifly laid eyes on Combusken.

"Beaut!?" Beautifly cried angrily as he realized that Torchic, his arch rival had evolved _'Are you kidding me, you evolved too?!'_

"Bus-Busken" Combusken chirped, showing off his new claws, unaware that Beautifly wis brimming with anger and jealousy _'Yeah I evolved two days ago, neat huh!'_

"Beaut Beaut" Beautifly replied, closing his eyes and turning away from Combusken to try and bring Combusken down by pretending he was not impressed '_Ehhh not really, but then again after evolving TWICE, evolution doesn't amaze me as much anymore'_

"Bus..." Combusken said with his head down _'Oh...'_

"Skit Skit" Skitty purred, walking up to Combusken _'I think your evolution is pretty neat'_

Combusken became flustered "Bus...Busken?" _'you really think so?'_

Skitty nodded, making Combusken blush even more.

"Beaut Beautifly!" Beautifly said with a smirk on his face _'Oh stop lying to the poor bastard, he's already as miserable as it is.' _This made Combusken mad "Bus Busken!" _'what the hell is your problem, I've always tried being nice to you, but you're always a dick to me, what are you compensating for anyways!?'_

"Beaut Beautifly!" _'you're my problem asshole, always trying to suck up to May, you're a kiss ass. You want May all to yourself so she doesn't pay attention to me or the rest of us!'_

"BUS BUSKEN!" _'I'M TIRED OF YOUR CRAP, YOU WANNA START SOMETHING, LET'S START SOMETHING!'_

Combusken and Beautifly went up to each other and pressed their heads on one another, glaring through squinted eyes "Busken!" "Beaut!"

May turned toward her feuding pokemon and sighed _"Good god, I really don't need them doing this right now, I'm already stressed as it is."_

"Would you two please stop, I really don't want to deal with kind of shit right now" May said with her hand on her forehead.

"Bus Busken" Combusken chirped, pointing toward Beautifly, trying to convey to May that Beautifly was the one who started the argument. "Look I don't care who started it" May replied "I'm feeling sick, I haven't slept, and you're making me look bad in front of Brendan and his pokemon so please cut the crap and try to act civilized around each other for once, can you do that for me?"

Combusken and Beautifly turned toward each one another to give each other one last glare, then turned to May and nodded.

"Thank you" May said, her forehead still in her hand "eat up." May's pokemon walked over to the bowl and started eating, with Combusken and Beautifly occasionally looking up to give each other dirty looks, creating atense atmosphere that made Aron, Skitty, and all of Brendan's pokemon uncomfortable (with the exception of Gulpin who was safe in his pokeball. Had he been out however, he still would not be uneasy because he would be oblivious to the animosity between Combuskenand Beautifly).

While the pokemon ate, May took a seat on the outer part of the fountain. Brendan sat next to her. "Your Beautifly and uhh Little Vato really have a rivalry going on don't they?" Brendan said, trying to make conversation with May because he could clearly see something was affecting her noticeably, and he wanted to cheer her up. "Yup, they been like this ever since I first got Beautifly when he was a Wurmple back on Route 102. They just won't quit" May sighed "one of these days they are going to have to learn to cooperate."

"I'm sure they'll learn to respect each other, because they _ARE_ partners, and they _BOTH_ are really strong. They just need time" Brendan reassuringly replied.

"I hope you're right" May muttered as she started to fiddle with her pendant.

"So where are you headed to next?" Brendan asked, changing the subject. "Lavaridge" May said plainly "hear that's where the next gym is."

"Lavaridge huh, you'll be heading through the Badlands then" Brendan replied "pretty cool place, if your into westerns."

"What do you mean?" May asked.

"What I mean" Brendan started "is the badlands is like the Old West, scratch that, it _IS_ the old west. rocky canyons, mountains, sand, dry, deserts, hot, barren, lawless, you name it. That place embodies the old west."

"Really" May said intrigued "the old west you say."

"Yup" Brendan nodded "heard about it on T.V. Personally I really wouldn't want to step foot in there because it's the most dangerous and rugged area of Hoenn. Not to mention it's hot as hell over there too. But if you're going to be going through there to get your next badge, then I'll come along."

"Really" May said "that's sweet of you, but you don't have to do that. Go ahead and go wherever you want, you don't have to come along if you don't want to. I've already dragged you off to enough places you didn't want to go to."

"I'm not letting you go there alone. Like I said, the place is dangerous. It'll be safer if we travel together. Besides, I'm sure there'll be all kinds of cool rare pokemon there."

"Well okay, I just don't want you to feel obligated or anything like that."

"It will be my pleasure, traveling with you is fun anyways" Brendan replied.

This put a smile on May's face. She looked over to her pokemon who were now done with their meal, and playing with Brendan's pokemon.

"You wanna start heading there now?" Brendan asked.

"Soon" May replied "let them play for a little while longer, then we'll head out."

* * *

**35 Minutes Later...**

Hoenn's Badlands; a semi barren area of central Hoenn. Home to jagged paths, deep canyons and valleys, a vast desert, dirt trails, little vegetation, and the most cases of dehydration and heat stroke in Hoenn. That's where May and Brendan were at this moment. Route 111, the valley path. The mildest part of the badlands.

"Oh GOD" Brendan whined "it's so hot!"

May looked over towards him and nodded. It sure as god damn hell was hot. May used her hand to shield her eyes to look up at the sky. It wasn't even noon yet. Looking away from the sky, she laid her eyes onto the current trail they were on. Brendan wasn't kidding when he said this place was the _epitome _of the old west. The dirt trail contained no human tracks, meaning it had been a while since someone walked this path. Around her was mostly dirt and jagged weather beaten rocks, with small patches of dry grass, and desert trees and plants littered throughout the expansive area. All this was enclosed by massive cliff walls far off to the East and West. Route 111 wasn't called the Valley Path for no reason.

"Why did we forget to buy water!" Brendan cried, berating himself for his blunder "and to think I was talking about how hot and dangerous this place is, and I forget to buy the ONE essential for this place!"

"Oh well" May muttered "mistakes were made, we both forgot...I don't know how that happened, but it did. Maybe we can find some water."

"Find water? where? there's nothing here except dirt and rocks" he said as he kicked at the dirt, frustrated with the whole situation "nothing but dirt, rocks, and heat. Stifling unbearable HEAT!"

"There has to be a stream or something around here, there just has to" May said, but even as she said this, she doubted herself. "Look let's just keep walking a little more, then we'll stop for a break under some shade."

"Fine" Brendan grumbled as he continued walking, following May down the trail. He was kind of surprised she was setting the pace, considering she was 'sick' and had not eaten.

**5 Minutes of continuous walking...**

"Okay, I think we should take a break now" A red faced Brendan said as felt his legs screaming at him to stop "I'm really tired." May kept on walking, her mind elsewhere. "May, hey May can you hear me?"

May spun around "huh wha, what's the matter?"

"Can we take break, I'm really tired" Brendan said once again. "Sure" May replied, although she was not tired (despite her sleep deprivation and the internal turmoil, May still had gas in the engine due to her surprisingly high endurance) "let's find somewhere to rest."

"How about over there" Brendan said, pointing to a nice shady spot under a sloping desert tree "that looks like a nice shaded place, I mean it's no Pokemart with air conditioning, but it will do ."

May nodded, and the two trainers walked under the tree and sat down. Brendan spread himself out and leaned against the trunk of the tree panting heavily, while May sat next to him on the dirt, with her arms around her legs, rubbing her parched lips with her index finger. "Oh god, this is much better" Brendan said between pants "there's a big temperature difference in the shade."

"Yeah, makes a huge difference when the sun isn't stabbing at your skin" My replied "that's probably the reason we haven't seen any pokemon. They're probably all resting in the shade waiting for the sun to go down."

"You're probably right" Brendan muttered "that sucks, I was hoping I would see some cool pokemon. Oh well...hey after our break, you want to head back to Mauville to get some supplies?"

"I don't know" May said reluctantly "we are near the mountains. There ought to be some body of water around here somewhere."

"Yeah, but we don't know where to look" Brendan replied "we could be searching for hours, and that's something we don't want to do. Especially here."

May really didn't want to go back to Mauville, she wanted to go to Lavaridge and face the gym there. In her mind, the quicker she got to her destination, the faster her memories will go away. "I'm sure we can find water by the next hour. If we go back to Mauville now, we'll be wasting a lot of time."

"B-But...oh all right" Brendan said, giving in to May "but if we don't find any by the next hour, we go back to Mauville."

"Alright, that's fair" May said, accepting the compromise "you ready?"

"Sure, let's go find some water" Brendan said, standing up, dusting himself off, and holding out his hand to help May up "you lead though."

"Fine by me" May replied as she took his hand and lifted herself up from the dusty ground, brushing the dirt off her tight biker shorts. _"Alright, where would we find water?" _May pondered _"Hmmmm...Rivers and streams form from melted snow streaming down from the high peaks of mountains...It appears the western mountains are the highest in elevation around here, not counting Mt. Chimney which is a volcano...My guess is there should be some kind of body of water west."_

"We should head west" May said "the tall western mountains are the most likely to have snow at the peak. That snow melts and streams down the mountain, so I'm thinking somewhere west near the base of those mountains there ought to be a some kind of stream or lake."

"Huh, that...well I never though of that. Alright let's start heading west" Brendan replied as he fastened his backpack onto his shoulders and got ready to follow May west.

"One thing though" May said, turning toward Brendan and pointing toward the menacing cliff face of the valley path "I don't see any paths to head further west, the valley seems to keep going straight."

"Oh..." Brendan muttered as he scratched his chin "well we might find a trail somewhere, the mountains must have a base so maybe there's a path through the valley wall somewhere, you know, from the streams slowly eating away at the rock."

"True" May said "I guess we should walk along the western cliff face to see if there's any path leading to the base of the mountains."

"Let's get to it then, but only for an hour" Brendan said as he and May started down the dusty lightly vegetated path, looking for a path west through the valley path's western cliff face. After 28 minutes of walking the rugged semi-arid wasteland, May and Brendan finally found a narrow passage dug into the valley. "There!" Brendan proclaimed "we found a path!"

"Let's see if it leads to water" May said as the duo made their way through the narrow rocky trail. After a small trek, and a few scratches and bruises courtesy of the jagged rocks, May and Brendan finally reached a oval shaped clearing surrounded. The western mountains stood above everything, while the steep valley cliffs enclosed the east side of the area. The area itself was semi-arid like the valley path (Route 111), filled with desert plants, trees, and rocks protruding from the ground. At the base of the western mountain, a large still lake full of crystal clear spring water.

"Yes, we found water!" Brendan cheered with his fist in the air "WooHoo, you were right May!"

"It's a good thing I was" May replied surprised "for a while there, I was doubting we would find anything."

"I was too, but you proved us both wrong didn't you!" he chuckled "Remind me to bring you along any other barren wastelands I happen to find myself in, which probably won't happen anytime soon because I never want to come to a place like this again, but that's besides the point."

"Is there ever a point to your ramblings?" May said jokingly, her mind eased by the positive energy emitted into her being by Brendan's presence.

"Of course I have points to my ramblings, it's just I forgot the point to this one...Oh well! Let's get a drink, I'm fucking parched!" Brendan said excited as he grabbed May's wrist and started leading her to the shore of the lake

The two finally reached the shore. Brendan knelled down near the water, cupped his hands, and started to scoop handfuls of the pure water and bring the life-giving liquid to his lips. May on the other hand wadded into the water until she was knee ankle deep, and got on her knees to splash water onto her dry face and lips, immediately feeling relief. In this moment, May actually forgot her troubles. Here she was with her best friend, in a small little arid oasis, frolicking in the pure spring water, nature's oldest gift to the earth and its creatures. She forgot about what happened to her friend years ago, the incident in Mauville, her fears, everything. A genuine smile fromed across her face, and she started to giggle as she eased more of herself into the cool water.

"Hey, looks like someone is feeling better!" Brendan said, noticing May acting like her normal self.

"Yeah, I am feeling better right now" she giggled "Hehe, the little things in life are the best aren't they!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING ON MY PROPERTY!?"

May gasped and lost her balance when she heard the sudden loud and angry voice. She slipped face first into the lake, squirming and gargling as she tried to get her head above the water. After some struggle, and Brendan's assistance, May got her head and upper torso above water. She coughed and coughed while Brendan patted her on the back. Once the coughing fit subsided, May and Brendan looked up to see who had yelled at them. Standing above them was a tall lanky man wearing torn dusty jeans, a light blue button up western shirt, and a rawhide cowboy hat. He had a stubble, and an angry look in his eyes. "What are yall doing on my here property?"

"We were just getting some water" May said as she stood upright. As she did this however, she felt a squirming in her shirt. She gasped and reached in, and frantically searched for what was the cause of the disturbance. After a few hilarious seconds, May finally grabbed a hold of something foreign in her brassiere and pulled it out, in her hand...well temporarily in her hand because the thing that May was holding had a slippery film coating its body which caused it to slip out of May's hands when she squeezed, and got sent into the air. May created a cradle with her arms, and the thing landed safely in her with a fluid-like _plop_. The thing May had caught in her arms was pokemon. It was small and serpentine, mostly gray in coloring, with a few accents of blue on its lips, fins, and whiskers. A jagged black line ran the length of its body.

"Boach!" he said happily as it looked up to May with a smile on his face._ "My my, what a fine evening it's turning out to be. I'm just swimming, minding my own business, then **WHAM!** I find myself stuck right in the middle of some brown skinned lady's breasts. I got to say Miss brown skinned lady, they were pretty comfortable."_

"Hey there little guy" May said warmly as she pet the top of the pokemon's head with her index finger "you're a cute little thing aren't you!"

"Boach!" _"Sure am! I usually get compliments like that from female Barboaches, but I don't mind one coming from a female human."_

"It looks like it's taken a liking to you" Brendan said as he pulled out his pokedex to document the new pokemon.

_"Barboach the whiskers pokemon. Its body is covered with a slimy film. The film acts as a barrier to prevent germs from entering the Barboach's body. Known Moves: Water Sport, Water Gun, Mud Slap."_

"Barboach huh" May muttered as she continued to pet the friendly pokemon "I like him, he'

"And you're going to put im right back were yeh found im, and get your spic ass off my property" the man said, interrupting May's bonding moment with her soon to be new pokemon.

"Hey this pokemon isn't yours...is it?" Brendan asked, unsure of the ownership of Barboach. "It ain't mine, it's wild" the man said bluntly "but it's on my property, so that done make it mine."

"Just because a pokemon is on your proper-what do you even own the lake?" Brendan asked angrily.

"Yup, own all yeh see before yeh" the man said with outstretched arms "belongs to the Winstrate family, my family. Been that way fer years."

"Oh...well that still does not make Barboach yours, he's wild so he does not belong to anyone till he's caught!" Brendan shot back "right May?" Brendan turned to May "right?"

May did not answer, her eyes were busy glaring at the man. Even though she was going through some mental instability at the time, coupled with fatigue from sleep deprivation and the tiresome walk on Route 111, she didn't take kindly to anybody, especially strangers, making negative comments against her our her race. With the pure spring water running through her system giving her life and energy, she had regained some of her spunk. "What...the fuck...did you call me?" she asked with a low but sharp voice.

"I wasn't talking to you, so why don't you shut yo-"

Before the man could finish, May interrupted him "I don't give two fucks who you were talking to, I'm talking to you now!"

"Why you rude little shit" the man said, spitting on the ground "you've got some-"

Before he could finish, May interrupted him once more. "Me rude?! you come out of nowhere to yell at us for accidently coming on to your property, then call me a spic, and I'm the rude one?!"

"Disrespectful little-"

"I don't care how old you are, our what you do!" May yelled, her rage bringing blood gushing into her cheeks "I don't let anyone treat me like that. You want to be disrespectful? Well fuck you, I'll be just as bad. You want us off your damn property so bad, we'll go. I understand not wanting strangers around your home, but that doesn't give you the right to insult me."

"We're leaving now" May said "but I'm taking this Barboach with me. He doesn't belong to you, and on top of that, he wants to come with me...right Barboach?" she asked, looking down at Barboach who was still nestled comfortably in her smooth arms.

"Boach!" he said, nodding his head in agreement. _"You said it miss, especially if you're going to be carrying me in those pillows of yourn!"_

"Well it's settled, we're leaving" May turned to Brendan "come on, let's get the hell outta here."

"I'm right behind you" Brendan whispered as they both started toward the trail out of the man's property and onto Route 111

"You ain't leaving with that Barboach!" the man yelled angrily as he ran up and blocked the teen's path "you little trouble making youngins ain't goins nowhere till you put that there pokemon back into my lake!"

"He's my pokemon now, he wants to go with me" May said through gritted teeth. "Boach" Barboach nodded as he turned toward the man, glared at him, and shot a weak squirt of water at his face.

"Why you!...Grrrr...Victoria, Vivi, Vicky! Get on out here, we've got some trespassers to deal with!"

May and Brendan looked over to a small ranch house (they had apparently not seen, probably due to their excitement over finding water) about fifty yards away, from them. After a slight pause, they saw the door open, and three girls stepped out. One was middle aged with an unattractive frown plastered to her face, the other was young (about thirteen years in age), and the last one was an old fart. They walked over to the man and gave May and Brendan angry glares.

"These the trespassers honey?" the middle aged lady (Victoria) asked the man. "They sure are hon, they want to leave with a pokemon from the lake'

"They what!" the old lady (Vicky) exclaimed in disbelief "damn spics think they own everything!"

May could not believe her ears. _"These ignorant, prejudice, offensive, hypocritical motherfuckers! Who the hell do you think they are?!"_

"Look here spic" the man (Victor) said, turning toward May "I have a proposition for you so listen up. If you and your brown skin loving traitor (points to Brendan) can beat me and my family here in consecutive double battles, you can keep that there Barboach. However, if we win, you put im back in the lake, deal?"

"Screw that, let's just go" Brendan whispered to May "they can't keep us here against our will."

"Deal" May told Victor, then turned to Brendan "these assholes have insulted the both of us. They want a battle, then they'll have a battle. It will be very gratifying to see the looks on their faces when the 'spic' and the 'brown skin loving traitor' walk off with Barboach and their pride."

A smile formed across Brendan's face "good point, let's show these people a thing or two about battling!"

"Y'all ready to get yer asses whooped?" Victor said mockingly as he walked toward a nice area to battle with Victoria by his side.

"You should save your breath for after the match. You know, when you two will be hollering at each other over who's fault it was losing the fight" May said as she and Brendan walked over to the opposite side of the field to face the Winstrates.

"We'll see about that _SPIC_!" Victoria said (with an emphasis on spic) as she pulled out a pokeball and threw it into the air. Out of her pokeball came a small bipedal pokemon that looked like a walking humanoid plant with a rose on each hand (one red, one blue), and thorns on its head. "Rose" she said in an arrogant manner with her head held high. Victor threw his pokeball into the air, and out of it came a small bird pokemon with dark blue and white feathers, with patches of red feathers on his chest and face. "Tail-low!" he cawed flying around in circles, ready for battle.

May started to pull out one of her pokeballs, while Brendan pulled out his pokedex to document Roselia (Taillow had been previously documented). The pokedex started up.

_"Roselia the thorn pokemon. A Roselia that drinks nutritionally rich spring water blooms with lovely flowers. The fragrance of its flowers has the effect of making its foes careless"_

Brendan put his pokedex away and started to unclip one of his pokeballs from his belt, while May threw her's up into the air. Out of May's came her Aron. "Ron!" he cried, stamping his feet onto the ground to ready himself for battle. Brendan threw his pokeball into the air _"alright Gulpin, time for your first battle!" _Out of Brendan's pokeball came his Gulpin, who looked unwavering at the people and pokemon around him. He turned toward Brendan "Gulpin?" _'Is it time for food?' _Brendan may have had Gulpin for a short while, but he could tell what the pokemon was thinking...mainly because all Gulpin thought about was food. "N-No Gulpin, we're in a battle right now, food later!"

Gulpin nodded and turned back toward his opponents with an indifferent face.

"Let's show these trespassers not to mess with us, Taillow use Agility!" Victor yelled. Taillow, already flying in circles, simply sped up his flight, raising his speed sharply.

"Roselia use Magical Leaf on Aron!" Victoria cried. "Rose" Roselia nodded as she lifted her arms horizontally and released a plethora of shimmering leafs that seemed to be shrouded with a mysterious Magical energy.

_"Shit Magical Leaf is most likely a special move, not Aron's strongest point."_

"Dodge it Aron!" May instructed.

"Wait May you can't!" Brendan said as Aron tried to jump out of the way, but the leaves much to May and Aron's surprise, turned and continued to glide toward the steel/rock type, slicing through the air as it went.

"Gulpin use Sludge on those leaves!" Brendan instructed. Gulpin opened his mouth, started to shudder, and belched out a vile poisonous sludge that came out in an arc, and landed on the Magical Leaf before it could hit Aron.

May breathed a sigh of relief "thanks Brendan" she said turning toward her friend. "No problem" he replied, giving her a friendly wink.

"While those two are distracted use Wing Attack on Gulpin!" Victor yelled. "Taillow!" the tiny swallow pokemon cawed in the manner of a war cry, and in an instant Taillow glided down, straight toward Gulpin.

"Try and cover Gulpin with your Headbutt!" May directed. Aron leapt into the air headfirst, in an attempt to intercept Taillow before he hit Gulpin, but Taillows raised speed allowed it to easily glide past Aron, and strike Gulpin with tightened outstretched wings.

"Gulp!" Gulpin cried in pain as the attack struck him hard. "Hang in there Gulpin, you can do it!" Brendan yelled, trying his best to support his pokemon.

May looked toward the Winstrates and their pokemon. They had not been hit once yet. They had a plan, while May and Brendan did not, and that was not good. _"Alright think May, to win this you need to come up with a plan and fast!" _She noticed that Gulpin took considerable damage from Taillows attack, his _physical _attack.

_"Gulpin is not the strongest defensively, but I'm guessing his special defense is pretty high, considering that oozing film dripping off his body...while my Aron is a defensive tank...Taillow is a attacker, while Roselia is a special attacker..."_

May turned toward Brendan "Brendan, you take on Roselia, while I take on Taillow. Try not to let any of Roselia's attacks hit Aron, and I'll try to keep Taillow away from Gulpin."

"Alright, Gulpin use Pound on Roselia!" Brendan said pointing at Roselia. Gulpin, surprisingly fast for a pokemon of his body type, slid toward Roselia, and struck her with his...I quess you can call it a hand...arm? "Rose!" Roselia cried as she the impact sent her on her plant butt.

"Gah, Victor do sometin!" Victoria cried, looking toward her husband. He nodded and looked up toward his Taillow "Taillow use Wing Attack on Gulpin again!" Taillow nodded, and glided down like a dive bomber once again toward Gulpin.

"Use Metal Claw on Taillow!" May yelled. Aron jumped toward Taillow, ready to devastate him with his sharp metal forelegs, butmissed once again due to Taillow's speed.

"Pin!" Gulpin cried in pain once more as the somewhat strong physical move backed by Taillow's insane speed struck him hard. Brendan turned toward May "I thought you were going to keep him away from Gulpin?"

"Sorry" May apologized slapping her forehead in embarrassment _"that Taillow is extremely fast, Aron will never be able to time his attacks to hit him..." _As she thought this, she looked toward some rocks on the battlefield. Her thoughts went back to him breaking through the Granite Cave's walls back in Dewford, and the metal floor in the Mauville gym. _"That's it, let's see Taillow evade this!"_

"Aron use your Headbutt on those rocks!" May yelled, pointing to one of the rocks scattered on the battlefield. Aron nodded, and hustled toward the rock as fast as his short legs could carry him, with his head angled down...

_CRASH_

Aron struck the rock, cracking it into small fragments that got sent flying into the air every which way. "Gah, Taillow evade them!" Victor cried, referring to the sharp jagged fragments jetting through the air like miniature rockets. It was to no avail though, there was just to much. Taillow used some brilliant aerial maneuvers to evade a few, but not all of them. Some struck his wings, others on his belly and face. "Taillow!" Taillow cried as he crashed to the ground.

"Get up Taillow!" Victor pleaded. "Low..." Taillow muttered, trying his best to get back up into the air. "Don't give him a chance, take him out with Metal Claw!" May yelled. Aron wasted no time running up to the downed Taillow and pushing him back onto the dusty battlefield. he then pinned the normal/flying type to the ground with his hind legs, and started to rake the bird's face with his impressively sharp metal forelegs. Again and again Aron slashed until Taillow fainted from the pain.

"Taillow come back!" Victor cried, recalling his bird pokemon "I'm out, it's up to you honey."

"Damn, alright let's take that damn Aron out with another Magical Leaf!" Victoria yelled. Roselia released another magically enhanced flurry of sharp leaves toward Aron.

"Use Headbutt Aron!" May yelled. Aron charged toward Roselia, getting struck with the Magical Leaf, but not faltering or stopping.

"WHAT!?" Victoria cried in disbelief as Aron continued his charge. "Gulpin let's not give May all the fun, use Pound on Roselia!" Brendan yelled. Now Gulpin charged toward Roselia

_WHAM_

_WHAM_

Aron struck Roselia with his powerful steel head, just as Gulpin struck Roselia with his arm/hand/thingy, sending the thorn pokemon skidding across the ground back toward Victoria in a dusty cloud.

"Rose-Roselia..."

"Looks like we won this one!" Brendan proclaimed as he recalled his Gulpin. "We sure did!" May replied, recalling Aron. "Boach!" Barboach said happily, congratulating them both on their first victory

"I can't believe we lost to a spic and some spic lovin traitor" Victor grumbled, kicking at the dirt. "God damnit!" Victoria said angrily as she stomped on the ground and recalled Roselia "looks like it's up to Vivi and Vicky." Victor and Victoria walked away from the battlefield, while Vivi and Vicky walked toward it.

"You may have beat my son and his wife, but you ain't beating me and my granddaughter" Vicky said, pulling out a pokeball and throwing it into the air. "Yeah, we ain't losing to no border sympathizer and his Mexican squeeze!" Vivi yelled pulling out her pokeball and throwing it into the air as well. Out of Vicky's pokeball came a Meditite, just like the one Brawly had, but just not as strong. Meditite said nothing, and was unmoving, her eyes closed and her mind focused and ready to battle. Out of Vivi's pokeball came a small round and blue pokemon with round ears, and a thin jagged tail with a blue sphere on the end. "Marill!" she said cheerfully, probably oblivious to her trainer's hateful ways.

Brendan pulled out his pokedex to document Marill (A/N: Just in case you're wondering, May isn't documenting pokemon right now because she is PISSED off, and only focused on beating the Winstrates).

_"Marill the aqua mouse pokemon. Its body is covered with water-repellent fur. Because of the fur, it can swim through water at high speed without being slowed by the water's resistance."_

"Alright, let's show them what we can do!" Brendan exclaimed as he put his pokedex away, and threw a pokeball into the air. Out of Brendan's pokeball came his Seedot. "Seed" he said, squinting his eyes and sizing up his opponents. "Let's see how you deal with this..." May muttered as she reached for the pokeball containing Beautifly. "Boach!" Barboach cried and flopped out of May's arms and onto the battlefield before May could pull out Beautifly's pokeballl. "Y-You want to battle with me?" May asked. "Boach!" Barboach replied as he flopped aroundthe dusty battlefield. "Alright, let's do this!" May proclaimed.

"Come on granddaughter, let's send these miserable brats packing back to whatever disgustingly racially integrated town they came from, Meditite use Meditate!" Vicky yelled. Meditite sat still with her eyes closed, raising her attack. "Marill use Rollout on that spic lovers Seedot!" little Vivi yelled. Marill nodded, curled into a ball, and barreled toward Seedot.

_"Perfect" _Brendan thought to himself "Quick Seedot use Bullet Seed!" As Marill rolled toward Seedot, Seedot bent down and shot a flurry of bullet-like seeds at Marill, once, twice, thrice, four times!

"Rill!" Marill cried as she rolled back toward Vivi, knocked out from the super-effective barrage. "Wha-I-I-I-I lost already?" Vivi said in disbelief.

"Grrrr way to leave dear old granny all by her lonesome" Vicky muttered angrily "whatever I can take these two, Meditite use-" before Vicky could finish her sentence, Seedot started to shine brightly, Causing everyone to look away. After a few moments, the light grew faint, and a new pokemon stood were Seedot once was.

"Nuzleaf!" the former Seedot cried with outstretched arms, proud of his evolution. "Yes, you finally evolved!" Brendan proclaimed with a proud smile coming across his face "you don't know how long I've been waiting for you to evolve!"

"Congratulations, he looks even tougher now!" May praised, making Nuzleaf blush lightly. This time both trainers pulled out their pokedexes.

_"Nuzleaf the wily pokemon. A forest-dwelling pokemon that is skilled at climbing trees. Its long pointed nose is its weak point. It loses power if the nose is gripped."_

Brendan and May both looked in horror as their pokedexes said those words. _"Oh no, why did it say that now?"_

"Quick Meditite grab that fucker's nose!" Vicky yelled. In an instant, Meditite leapt toward Nuzleaf. "Get out of there!" Brendan cried frantically. Before Nuzleaf could jump away, Meditite got a tight grip on his nose, and squeezed. "Leaf!" Nuzleaf cried as he felt his strength and energy slowly fade away.

"Quick use Water Gun on Meditite!" May cried, desperate to protect Brendan's newly evolved Nuzleaf.

"Use Detect to jump out of the Water Gun's way, and threw that damn Nuzleaf at the same time!" Vicky instructed. The extremely nimble Meditite used Detect to backflip out of the Water Gun's way, all while still holding onto Nuzleaf's nose, and dragging him with her. Once she landed onto her feet, she used her focused power to fling Nuzleaf over her head. "Leaf!" Nuzleaf cried once more as he landed onto the dusty battlefield. "Now use High Jump Kick!" Vicky yelled. Meditite wasted no time, and jumped into the air, her leg pointed toward the battered Nuzleaf, like a bullet heading for its target.

_WHAM_

Meditite's super-effective struck Nuzleaf right on his nose. Nuzleaf skidded across the ground without saying a word, he was knocked out. "Oh Nuzleaf!" Brendan cried as he ran up to his pokemon and held him in his arms "and you just evolved, "I'm so sorry..."

"Ha, what a weak pokemon" Vicky scoffed "and what a weaker trainer!"

Brendan looked down in shame and recalled his pokemon "sorry May, it's all up to you..."

May did not hear this however, she was busy glaring shanks at Vicky. She was at her boiling point. First they insult her and her race, now her friend and his pokemon?! Fuck that, she was NOT going to allow that. "Why you old, wrinkly, bitter, used up bitch. How dare you disrespect my friend. If you were younger and we were on the streets, I would lay you're ass flat on the ground in an instant!"

"Oh did I get you mad spic? Come on, let's finish this."

After those words were spoken, everything was silent (save for Barboach flopping around on the ground). Even the other Winstrates had their mouths shut. The setting sun bathed the battlefield and its inhabitants in an orange glow. May and Vicky's eyes were locked in glares, sizing each other up, trying to read each others body language, waiting to see who would make the first move. Scenes from May's favorite spaghetti westerns popped into her head. Like Blondie facing Tuco and Angel eyes in the Mexican standoff at the end of **The Good the Bad and the**** Ugly**, or Django ready to unload on the red hood wearing former Confederates turned bandits with the 'surprise' he kept in his coffin in **Django**, here she was facing her own villain, her own group of bandits, her own Angel Eyes.

A lone tumbleweed passed by with a single dry breeze through the battlefield. May remembered when Blondie shot Angel Eyes dead, and when Django pulled his machine gun out of his coffin and unloaded on the bandits. This was it, the time to attack was nigh.

"Alright use Water Gun!" May said fast and clear, taking both Vicky and Meditite by surprise. Barboach reacted quickly and shot a powerful jet of water that hit Meditite right between the eyes.

"Tite!" she cried, as the force of the attack sent her on her butt. Vicky gasped, but quickly got back into the battling mindset "get up and use Confusion!"

Meditite got back onto her feet, and focused all of her spiritual energy into manifesting as a powerful mental. "Boach!" Barboach cried in pain as the attack struck him, hurting him.

"Shit" May said through gritted teeth. "Now use High Jump Kick!" Vicky yelled. In an instant, Medittie effortlessly switched from attacking mentally, to jumping toward Barboach leg first.

"Dodge it!" May cried.

_BAM_

It was too late. "Boach!" Barboach cried as the attack struck him, sending him back a few paces, but the little water/ground type was surprisingly resilient and was back on the battlefield flopping around, ready for another command.

_"Little bastard is tough" _May chuckled to herself _"but he won't last long if he keeps flopping around like that, he can't dodge anything...Wait, I have an idea!"_

"Use Water Sport!" May yelled. Barboach arched his body so he faced the sky, and shot spurts of water into the air. The water fell back down onto the dusty battlefield, turning it somewhat muddy.

"Ha, you think a little mud will slow us down?" Vicky scoffed "use High Jump Kick!" Once again Meditite leapt into the air, ready to strike Barboach with her foot. "Quick dodge it!" May cried. This time, Barboach instead of flopping around, Barboach easily skimmed through the mud like a jet ski, effortlessly evading Meditite's attack. Unfortunately for Meditite, she crashed onto the ground, dealing high damage to herself. "come on get up!" Vicky yelled. "Tite..." Meditite muttered as she tried her best to get up.

A devious smile formed across May's face "don't let her get up, use Water Gun...aim for her nose!" Barboach nodded and shot a powerful stream of water that struck Meditite right on her nose!

"Tite!" Meditite cried as she skidded across the now muddy battlefield to Vicky's feet knocked out. Vicky and the other Winstrates looked toward Meditite with their mouths agape in disbelief, then at May, then back toward Meditite.

"...We lost...we all lost..."

"Yes, you did it May, you and Barboach!" Brendan cheered as he went up to May and gave her a hug. "Thanks for defending my honor" he whispered into her ear. This made May blush "of course I did, your my friend. I know you would do the same."

"I would" Brendan said as he released May and looked toward the defeated Winstrates. "So are we leaving or what?"

May looked over toward them, and pulled out a pokeball. She walked over to Barboach and placed it in front of him "welcome to the team Barboach!"

"Boach!" Barboach said happily as he pressed the pokeball's button with his nose. It opened up, and turned him into a red swirl of energy, and closed. It shook three times and pinged.

_Ping_

May picked up her pokeball and smiled, clipping it onto her belt and looking toward the Winstrates. "Well it was a pleasure battling you all. Normally I would say "hasta luego," but what "hasta luego" actually means is "till I see you again," and since I never wish to see you again, I say goodbye!" **(A/N: This piece of dialogue was modified for May, but actually comes from one of my favorite movies. Can you guess what it is. I'll give you a hint, it's a western that came out in 2012. It stars Jamie Fox). **May turned toward Brendan "come on let's get out of here."

"Right behind you" Brendan muttered as they walked back through the path that lead them to the Winstrates property in the first place, the setting sun shining down on them. They were soon gone.

"I can't believe I lost to a spic" Vicky muttered. "That was one tough spic, never caught her name" Victor added. "That damn girl made me look bad in front of my daughter!" Victoria said angrily. The sulking Winstrates walked back to their home, only one looked back. Vivi, looking back toward the battlefield were they were defeated by that spic lover, and the girl, the girl with the green bandanna.

* * *

**Later that night...**

"That was an awesome match" Brendan said as he looked into the crackling campfire (created courtesy of Combusken's Ember), that gave them light and warmth in the cold Badland's night "you were awesome...as usual."

"Thanks" May replied looking over toward Brendan "Though I couldn't do it without you."

"Oh come on. you could've taken them out by yourself" Brendan said complementing May.

May shook her head. In truth she probably couldn't have battled, let alone stood up to the Winstrates in the condition she was in before she caught up with Brendan, but he didn't know that. "Believe me, I really couldn't have done it without you."

"Thanks" Brendan said with a blush, finally accepting he was instrumental in defeating the Winstrates. "I can't believe how rude they were, calling you a spic. That's just...just...just mean!"

"Yeah I know" May muttered "but whatever, I mean it's not entirely their fault they act that way."

"What do you mean?' Brendan asked.

"Well there's a reason they are like that" May started "Hate like that doesn't grow overnight, it's generations of prejudice and ignorance. Shit happens between two groups of people, and then resentment grows amongst the two groups. That hate just passes on the next generation, then to the next one, and so forth. When you've got hate like that, it's hard to break from it, especially since you've got pre existing hate for a group of people which affects your interactions with them."

"So it's like a never ending cycle?"

May nodded "it's like that for all kinds of things, not just hate. Criminals, gangsters, the likes. People aren't born evil or good. It's the environment that shapes their character. I'm not trying to give those kind of people excuses for what they do, because what they do is wrong, I just understand where they're coming from you know."

"I hear ya" Brendan nodded as he took his eyes off the campfire and toward May "I'm glad you're feeling better."

May smiled "thanks."

_"I hope I stay this way."_

"I like it when you smile, it's much better then when you looked all depressed back in Mauville...by the way, why were you like that?"

"Like I said, I was just feeling sick is all" May lied. Yes it was true she was now feeling better, but she didn't want to ruin it now by talking about what happened, and bringing back the memories.

Brendan knew May wasn't telling him everything, but decided to let it go "alright, if you say so."

"Yeah" May mumbled as she continued to stare at the campfire. As she did this, Brendan couldn't help but stare at her. The fire gave her light brown skin an orange glow. He liked it, he liked it a lot. What a pretty little thing...what was she hiding? What was she...she...

_"Yawn"_

Brendan yawned and stretched out languidly "boy I'm tired. I think we should get some rest so we can wake up early and head to Lavaridge."

May's stomach dropped. Sleep. Sleep was something she was dreading all day. She had forgotten about it until now. "Sleep now, c-can't we stay up a little longer?" May asked, with desperation slightly in her voice.

"I can't force you, but I am" Brendan replied as he pulled a blanket from his backpack and laid down with it over him "I suggest you do as well so we can wake up before the sun comes up makes everything hot" Brendan replied.

"...all right, let's go to bed" May muttered as she pulled her blanket and Torchic doll from her fanny pack. She laid down, and wrapped the blanket over her and the Torchic doll held tightly in her arms and closed her eyes. She hoped to god she wouldn't be tormented in her sleep. She rubbed her pendant asking for strength in her head

_"Please give me strength."_

Brendan was completely oblivious to May's growing anxiety. All he saw was the pretty girl he liked, sleeping with the doll he gave her. She looked like a delicate angel when she was sleeping. Her eyes closed, and her silky brown hair brushing against her the soft skin on her forehead. He sighed, why didn't he have the courage to tell her how he felt.

_"I wish I was braver."_

He lightly shook his head, and got up to kick dirt onto the fire to extinguish it. Once that was done, he got under his blanket again, looked toward May one more time, sighed, and closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

**_"May"_**

_..._

_..._

_..._

**_"MAY!"_**

_May opened her eyes and sat upright. She was surprised and terrified on what she found her surroundings to be. It wasn't at the camp she and Brendan made on Route 111. No, she found herself in a dark decrepit room with a circular shape. All around her were different doors, oh so many. It was dead silent, no wind, no creaking, nothing._

_"What the hell is going on?" May said fearfully as she looked around. She could barely see anything._

_It was so silent. This creeped May out the most, the total absence of sound._

_Total Silence_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_"AHHHHH!"_

_A loud scream from behind one of the doors made May jump, and sent a jolt through her spine. _

_"AHHHHHH!"_

_The screaming was hellish, it sounded like someone was being tortured. May ran over to the door that the scream was coming from and tried to open it._

_It didn't budge._

_The louder it got, the more familiar it got. It was Nick. As she realized this, the more frantic she became to open the door._

_"AHHHHHH!"_

_Another scream, another door. This one sounded different, like a pokemon._

_"AHHHHHH!" _

_It was Combusken. May started toward the door._

_"AHHHHH!"_

_Only to be halted by another scream from another door. This one sounded like Beautifly. She turned toward that one, but another scream erupted from another door, then another, then another._

_Each one, different people she knew. Her pokemon, her mom, her dad, Prof. Birch, Linda, Wally, Wally's Kirlia, Brendan's pokemon, and finally Brendan. The screams continued on and on. May spun round and round in hell. They all cried for her, but she couldn't help one let alone all of them._

_"I can't help, I can't help!" May cried as she fell to her knees, grasping her head with her hands and rocking back and forth_

_"Stop please stop, I can't help!"_

_Tears swelled into her eyes._

_"S-Stop..."_

* * *

May gasped and opened her eyes. Above her the moon and stars looked down on her, bathing her in a pale white light. She was still on Route 111. She sat upright, sweaty and gasping for air. She got up and walked over toward Brendan to see if he was okay. The blanket over him lifted up and down with every breath he took, he was okay. May breathed a sigh of relief, but that relief was only temporary as she came to terms with reality. These dreams weren't one time things, they were here to stay. Torment. Every. Single. Night.

May began to sob. How was she going to continue? She couldn't sleep, fearing what came with it. How would she be able to continue when she wasn't sure what was going on anymore. She feared she was slowly losing her ability to differentiate reality, and the products of her mind. She sobbed some more and looked to the night sky, rubbing her pendant roughly.

_"Please god help me, please save me."_

**And scene. That was the longest chapter I have written (so far). So you may have noticed I'm calling the area of central Hoenn containing the desert and Route 111 and 112 the Badlands. Why you ask? Well I wanted to give this area of hoenn a western feel, because if you haven't noticed, I love westerns. A lot. They're my favorite types of movies, (except for post apocalyptic movies, I like them just as much!) So did I give this chapter a western feel? Tell me what you think so I can do better in coming chapters. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! **


	22. The Aqua-Magma Schism

**The Aqua-Magma Schism**

_One day ago…Hearts From Hoenn Headquarters, Command Center._

Jonathan and Esteban stood around a circular table in a room filled with communications equipment, charts, and written plans and notes taped across the metallic art-deco stylized walls. The room was cold like the two men around the table, looking down onto a large detailed map of Hoenn.

"We've got DHS and Hoenn Regional Guard bases in LaRousse, Mossdeep, and the cliffs North of Rustboro" Jonathan muttered as he pointed to specific points on the map "When the time comes, our top priority will be to set up the Rail Guns in Sootopolis, and keep the government from interfering in our operation for as long as we can" Jonathan said, pointing to Sootopolis on the map.

"How long do you think it will take jefe?" Esteban asked.

"I don't know" Jonathan replied "It all depends on how long it takes for the sky serpent to arrive to try and stop the other two. Once the Rail Guns take care of him, all we have to do is wait for the other two to kill each other...Then our mission will complete" Jonathan looked up "the system will fall."

"There's no society like NO society" Esteban chuckled "for the good of all, huh jefe."

"For the good of all" Jonathan nodded "But before that, we'll need to cover our bases. The government will send their forces over here to Lilycove when they realize it's us, but what they don't know is the base of operations will be moved to Sootopolis. I still want ground forces here as a decoy for the government, so we can buy as much time as possible."

"Alright, so you want defensive positions near the North perimeters to defend against government forces coming from LaRousse" Esteban muttered, rubbing his finger across the distance between the two cites on the map.

"Yes and no" Jonathan muttered "I do want troops here in Lilycove to draw the government's attention over here, but the base in LaRousse will be the least of our worries. Their communications will be crippled once we shut off their power, giving us ample time to reinforce our positions here."

"What about the ones near Rustboro and in Mossdeep?"

"I was getting to that" Jonathan replied "The fleet in Mossdeep's harbor is the only force capable of mounting a good offensive against us, but like LaRousse, their power will be cut off as well. Not to mention once they finally manage to get up and running, they'll be directing their firepower at the wrong target. They most likely try to come in from the East and pound us with artillery shells before they send in ground forces to try and take the city from us. So what I want is a small fleet positioned on Lilycove's Eastern coast, and a small contingent of our forces ready to route the government troops into the urban sprawl, and then...BOOM they'll be trapped fighting our forces in the city! Hehehehe, urban combat is the worst!"

"HA!" Esteban laughed as he slammed his fist onto the table "you're right jefe it is! Reminds you of the firefights in the alleys like in the old days huh!"

"It sure does hehehe, it sure does my friend!" Jonathan chuckled. They both chuckled, the laughter becoming more maniacal as time went on. Soon though, it died down and the two composed themselves

"Okay, what about the the base near Rustboro?" Esteban asked.

"Ahhh yes, that base" Jonathan chuckled "we won't be able to shut their power off because they get their's from the Devon Corporation. What we do have going for us against them though, will be enough to keep them at bay. Luckily for us, that base is a very small DHS depot with mainly terrestrial and amphibious vehicles, not many aircraft. Another thing going against them is that half of their numbers if not all will be ordered to protect the towns and cities to the west, the ones we don't have control over. If they are sent over, which is highly unlikely, they'll have to go through the Rusturf Tunnel, and get a foothold in Verdanturf so they can make the long trek over here to Lilycove. If that's the case, we will have plenty of time to set the remainder of our troops to Mauville. They'll be walking right into a trap."

"Smart jefe, really smart" Esteban chuckled once again "one more question though."

"What is it?"

"What if the citizens resist?"

"Kill them" Jonathan said without flinching "this is for their own good. I won't let their ignorance get in the way of liberating them from their wage slavery, or from bringing balance to our world. If they choose to resist, they'll be greeted with nothing other than our righteous rage!"

"YES JEFE YES!" Esteban cackled insanely "like how we dealt with problems the old way, with cuetes and balas! HAHAHHAHAHA!" Esteban made a gun with his hand _"pew pew! _HAHHAHAHAHA!"

"Settle down my old friend, we still have a lot of work to do" Jonathan said as he placed his finger over Sootopolis as Esteban continued to cackle maniacally, unable to control himself. Jonathan ignored him, and began to talk again "now that we got the battle plan ready, let's just check in with Emmerson to see if the-" before Jonathan finished, the phone in the room started to ring. Jonathan walked over to it and picked it up "what is it?"

"Uh we just got-"

"Emmerson I was just about to call you!" Jonathan interrupted "are the Abrams and Humvees ready yet, we'll need them for ground control..."

"Yes sir they are" Emmerson answered "but I called to inform you that we got intel that tells us Team Magma is planning to drain Mount Chimney."

Jonathan became wide eyed, and his teeth gritted together "they are planning to WHAT?!"

"Drain Mount Chimney sir, they want to find the red titan" Emmerson replied.

"THOSE IDIOTS!" Jonathan yelled, heaving with rage "Groudon isn't in Mount Chimney, he's somewhere underneath it! If those dumb fucks drain that volcano, they'll finally graduate from being ideological nuisances to full blown terrorists with every government agency after their asses! Then who will awaken Groudon for us?"

"What should we do?" Emmerson asked from the phone.

"I want you to send Miklo and three troops to accompany him to stop whatever they are planning. I would prefer they keep their involvement a secret, but they must stop Team Magma at all costs, you hear me? At...All...Costs. If they absolutely HAVE to pop a cap in a couple of those Magma fucks, then so be it!"

"No problem, I'll tell hook-hand err I mean Miklo and the troops right away."

"Good" Jonathan mumbled angrily "and once that's done with, why don't you send someone to plant some intel so those stupid red hooded fucks can start digging in the RIGHT place."

"Sure jefe, I'll have one of the troops meet up with our Diglett (mole) in Magma now."

"Good" Jonathan said as he switched the phone off and placed it on the table "even when executing his will, he still gives us complications..."

* * *

**Present Day 6:30, Back to May and Brendan...**

The morning sun slowly rose over the massive cliff faces that flanked Route 111, bathing the arid landscape, and two young trainers in its warm embrace. The two trainers in particular were none other than May and Brendan. Brendan had not moved a muscle since last night, still wrapped in his blanket exploring the far reaches of his sleeping mind in comfort. May on the other hand did not have that luxury. Sleep didn't bring comfort for her, it brought anxiety and depression, the dark bags under her eyes proved it. Once again, when May had tried to rest her weary self, her mind tormented her, forcing her into another long sleepless night. She had seen the stars and moon come and go for two nights straight, and the fatigue and deprivation were finally taking a heavy toll on her. Her legs felt like lead, and her brain felt as if it were expanding and pushing against her skull. Hours of inactivity both physically and mentally left her disorientated and zombielike. For instance, since 4:30, May decided to brush her teeth to at least do something while she waited for the sun to come. She had gotten everything ready, she had her brush, her toothpaste, her spring water from yesterday, everything. It started off well, a few brushes here, a few brushes there, then her mind went blank. All recollection of what she was doing previously escaped her mind. She went back to staring at nothing, all while her arms moved involuntarily, brushing and brushing. It was 6:30 and she was still doing it, the brush continued moving while the foamy toothpaste slowly escaped her mouth and fell gently onto the dusty ground.

**6:45**

_YAWN_

A powerful yawn escaped Brendan's mouth as he sat up and rubbed his groggy eyes. Once he could fully open them, he looked over his surroundings, and remembered his current location, much to his dread.

"Another day of continuous walking and searing heat" he muttered as he stood upright and folded his blanket _"I should wake May up so we can start walking before the sun get's really hot." _Brendan placed his folded blanket into his backpack and turned toward his friend "Hey May time to-Oh, you're already awake."

May didn't answer. Her eyes were open and she was moving, but she wasn't responding. This freaked Brendan out to some degree. Brendan reluctantly walked over to his pretty friend, his movements making crackling sounds as he went across the dusty ground _"Oh man, I hope I'm not still dreaming, and May jumps at me, or her face changes, or something like that." _

"Uh Ma-" When Brendan opened his mouth, he caught a whiff of his morning breath, making himself cringe slightly _"well at least I know I'm awake." _He positioned his mouth away from May to not offend her, and tapped her shoulder "uhh May, are you okay?"

This got May out of her daze. Her eyes became wide, and she looked around frantically "Huh? wha? where am I?"

"Still on Route 111" came a voice from behind her. She turned around and looked up, it was Brendan "with the dust and the sun and the-jeez May you don't look well."

May still somewhat disoriented looked over her self "what's wrong?"

"For starters" Brendan started "it looks like your foaming from the mouth." May placed her hand over her mouth, and sure enough she had foam. This startled her at first, but when she saw the toothbrush in her other hand, she realized it was toothpaste. "I-It's just toothpaste" she mumbled as some of it leaked down her chin. "And another thing is the bags under your eyes" Brendan replied "it looks like you haven't slept all night."

When Brendan said this, she finally realized that once again she had no received any sleep. _"Not again..." _May said in her mind as shook her head, and reached for the bottle of water she had on the ground. She poured some of its contents onto the toothbrush, and then into her mouth and on her lips. She stood up and waked away from Brendan to gargle. Brendan knew something was wrong, and it wasn't an illness. Something else was troubling his friend greatly, and he needed to get to the bottom of it.

"May what's going on?" Brendan asked as May continued to gargle "you were like this yesterday, and now it's happening again. I know something is messing with you, and as your friend I want to help you. But I can only help you if you let me, so please tell me what's troubling you."

May spat the water onto the ground and turned around to face Brendan "I'm fine, just a little sick is all."

"Bullshit" Brendan replied "I know what sick is, and you are not sick. Being sick is not going to keep you, especially you since I know how tough you are, from going to sleep. Being sick isn't going to put you into some weird daze like you were lobotomized or some shit like that. Something is troubling you, and whatever it is, it's really affecting you for the worst."

The already tense May felt another wave of tension flood her body. She didn't want to talk about what was going on, to her that was a sign of weakness. Only punks talked about their 'feelings' and she wasn't a punk. No, she wanted to just try and not think about it, cause it had to eventually go away...right?

"Everything's fine Brendan really" she lied.

"Don't give me that, that's a lie and we both know it" Brendan replied, giving her a stern look "spill it out, it's for your own good."

But here Brendan was, being the nosy prick he is, trying to dissect her mind. All she wanted to do was forget, but no he insisted on finding out what the problem was. _"Doesn't he realize I DON'T WANT to talk about this, can't he figure out that I just want to forget, and move on. NO, he has to keep fucking bringing it up...FUCK!"_

* * *

**_"Fine Brendan, I give up" May muttered as she placed the bottle of water back into her fanny pack "I'm not sick, and something else is troubling me."_**

**_"Well tell me-"_**

**_"But it's not troubling me" May interrupted "it's tearing me to FUCKING PIECES!" She placed her hands on the top of her head and squeezed "this isn't something that's going to go away by 'talking with someone' or some bullshit like that, this is the kind of shit that only goes away when you're DEAD!" she yelled as she menacingly approached Brendan, her body slightly twitching. _**

**_Brendan saw this and started to back away "May, y-you're scaring-"_**

**_"And when people like me get pushed to the edge, they start to lose control, they began to LOSE their grip on REALITY!"_**

**_"M-May p-please stop-"_**

**_"Reality, the stuff that helps separate the real world from the evil shit that resides in your head! When people lose THAT, they really don't have anything to stop them from doing things they would normally never ever do! All that get's meshed in with the diabolical shit you keep in the back of your mind, and then, and then... AND THEN YOU CAN'T CONTROL WHAT YOU DO!" May shouted as she started to run towards Brendan._**

**_"OH SHIT!" Brendan screamed as he ran away, kicking up a trail of dust as he went. Brendan was fast, but May was faster and more agile (thanks to her small frame) _**

**_"Run, I love a challenge!"_**

**_Once she got close, she kicked Brendan right on the back of his knee, causing him to fall. May went in for the kill, but Brendan with all the adrenaline pulsing through his body, managed to roll onto his back and kick May with all the force he could muster right onto the center of her torso. She grunted in pain, but quickly recovered, all the fights she had in Goldenrod had brought her tolerance for pain to amazing heights._**

**_ Using the small window of opportunity, Brendan got up to his feet. May saw this and started to circle him, keeping on her toes like a boxer. Brendan was terrified, she could see it in his eyes. He may have been bigger and much stronger than her, but he wasn't a fighter. She was, and he was going to be easy pickings. Menacing voices urged her to take him out, to stop him from pestering her with his nosiness once and for all. Adrenaline, rage, and downright primal insanity flooded her mind as she pounced. Brendan tried to defend himself, but was quickly overwhelmed by May's speed and the surprising power her fist contained. Brendan was once again on the floor, but this time May had him pinned down._**

**_"P-Please don't!" he pleaded through a busted lip and a missing tooth._**

**_"P-Please don't! Hahahahahaah, you shouldn't push people to the edge!" May yelled as she lifted her arm and bent it so her elbow protruded. Brendan's eyes widened as he realized he was done for. _**

**_"It's for your own good!"_**

**_May dropped her elbow onto his face repeatedly, blood splashing her face every time her elbow dropped..._**

* * *

"Hey May"

"Huh wha?' May said as she was broken away from another daze.

"You dazed off while I was talking to you" Brendan informed her "see, something is wrong with you."

May looked at her hand, she was grasping her pendant tightly. She felt blood trickle down from her hand. The blood, reminded her of her fantasy, the daydream she just had. Her mouth opened slightly, disgusted and in disbelief with the sequence that had just run through her mind. _"H-How could that even cross my mind? I-I could never do THAT! H-How could something like that even enter my mind? What's going on with me?!"_

"May, Hey May!" Brendan said aloud as he ran up to her and grabbed her hand "let go, you're bleeding!" May shook her head and opened her hand, releasing her pendant and a small stream of blood that gently fell unto the ground. Brendan was shocked "M-May, you NEED to tell me what's going on."

She shook her head and broke away from Brendan, holding her bleeding hand.

"This isn't a joke May, I'm actually fearing for your safety. You _NEED_ to talk."

"Please I don't want to..." May replied holding her hand "I just...I just want to go to Lavaridge okay, I just want my next gym badge."

"May do you even see yourself?" Brendan said, as he grabbed both of May's arms tightly "this isn't you. You can't sleep, you're bleeding all over the place, and your mind isn't even there at times. Hell I don't even know if you're with me right now" He leaned in close "you absolutely _have_ to tell me what's wrong."

"B-Brendan" May muttered trying to squirm away from his tight grip "you're hurting me!"

Brendan realized how tight he was holding her, and let go of her arms "I-I'm sorry, didn't realize how tight I was holding you."

"I just want to go to Lavaridge okay, there's nothing to talk about" May said rubbing her arms.

Brendan sighed in defeat "okay we'll start heading out. Let me just get ready." May nodded and slumped to the ground as Brendan began to brush his teeth. May felt sick to her stomach. Her body hurt, her head hurt, her arms hurt, everything hurt, not to mention her disgust with herself after her macabre daydream. There was no doubt in her mind anymore, she was losing it. She had no idea how she was going to go on with her journey as her mind was quite literally falling apart, yet she was still going to keep moving toward the next goal, in hopes that it will take her mind away from everything, in hopes that the small badge will make her forget. The naïve thoughts of a broken mind.

* * *

**40 Minutes Later...**

May and Brendan were once again walking on the dusty trail. Unlike yesterday, they were both completely silent. None had anything to say, because everything that had needed to be said had been said. All that was left was an uneasy Brendan filled with sympathetic pain for his friend. May on the other hand was busy trying to stay focused and keep her mind on the next gym...to no avail. The sun, now high in the sky, only made the walk through the unforgiving Badlands even more uncomfortable. They soon came across a fork in the road. They both stopped.

One path lead farther up Route 111, while the other went west down Route 112. "Where do we go?" May mumbled. Brendan scratched the back of his neck, and then pulled out his pokenav. After studying the device for a short moment, he broke his gaze away from it and turned toward May "If we keep going down Route 111, we'll have to go through a desert to reach Route 113. There we head west until we come across Fallarbor Town, but I don't think we can reach Lavaridge from there."

"What about the other one?" May asked with a soft voice.

"It stops at a dead end, but if we head slightly north up the slope of Mt. Chimney we can take a cable car up to the summit, then head down to Lavaridge" Brendan replied.

"Alright, let's go" May said as she and Brendan walked down Route 112. The farther they went, the landscape changed from semi-arid and rocky, to a full blown rugged rocky trail with no vegetation to be seen. On the up side, the large looming shape of Mount Chimney shielded them from the sun, making the walk much more manageable.

After walking a while longer, They finally reached a bend in the trail that sloped upwards on the base of Mt. Chimney. They soon reached a flat area of the mountain. "The cable car must be around here" Brendan muttered as he wiped sweat from his brow. "Over there" may said as she pointed to a small building with a long cable that reached what seemed to be the top of Mt. Chimney. "Oh yeah there it is" Brendan said as he looked over toward the building 'let's go." May nodded and they walked toward the building. The closer they got to the building, they noticed two gray uniformed guards with black pants standing at the entrance.

"Hello sirs" Brendan greeted the two guards "we're heading to Lavaridge Town, is there any chance we can go on the cable car?"

"Sorry kids, the cable cars closed" one of the guards said. "Yeah, it's being repaired" added the other. This was not the news May wanted to hear "umm do you know when it will be ready?" she asked. The guards both shook their heads "sorry, we don't. You two should wait for it over at Fallarbor Town, since I don't think it will be ready anytime soon."

"Oh...okay, thanks..." May muttered "do you know how to get to Lavaridge?"

"Sure, you can go back to Rou-" before the guard could finish, the other nudged him with his elbow to shut him up. "Actually I know a quicker way" the other guard replied.

"You do?" both May and Brendan said. The guard nodded "there's a small tunnel on the mountain a few yards from here that will lead you right on Route 113 without having to go through the desert."

"It was created for young trainers like you two because the desert is way too dangerous" the other guard added "...and it's where a lot of people have gone missing...'

"Oh..." the two teens said intrigued.

"Yup, so you don't want to end up in there."

"Okay, well thanks for the info, we really appreciate it" May said politely. The guards nodded, as May and Brendan walked away and started to look for the entrance to the tunnel the guards had suggested going through. It didn't take long for them to find it. It was a fairly large opening on the base of the mountain. One extremely noticeable feature of this tunnel was the heat that came from it. It was as if the two trainers were standing right next to a large short-circuiting radiator.

"Well ladies first" Brendan chuckled in an attempt to cheer May up. May nodded and walked into the tunnel without saying a word. Brendan sighed and followed her inside.

The first thing May noticed was how hot it was, scratch that, it was stupidly hot, the heat would literally make you stupid by burning your brain cells if you stayed in there too long. Luckily for May and Brendan, the tunnel was relatively short, saving them from a prolonged period of panting in the searing heat with every step they took, or the sweat that turned to steam before it fell onto the ground making the teens even more uncomfortable. The minute they reached the end of the heated tunnel and felt the sun hit their skin, they gasped for air, inhaling every molecule of oxygen they could get into their battered lungs.

"Oh my god" Brendan panted as he clutched his heaving chest "that was NOT what I was expecting."

May nodded vigorously in agreement panting as well. She pulled out her clothes to stop them from sticking to her sweaty skin.

"Alright...let's get moving" Brendan suggested still panting with less intensity. May nodded, but quickly realized she couldn't. Not sleeping and all the hours of physical activity and mental strain had finally overcome her outstanding endurance. Her body needed to rest, and it was putting its foot down. "Hold up" she panted, making her shapely chest move up and down "give me a second...to catch my breath..."

"Oh alright" Brendan muttered, stealing a glance at her breasts they moved up and down. **_"Oh wow, those are...those are nice.._**_.what the hell are you doing? You're violating May with your eyes in the state she's in?"_

**_"It was just a glance!"_**

_"I don't care, now is not the time to be thinking like that. Seriously, like this is the worst time to be looking at her like that."_

_**"But other times are okay...right?"**_

_"Yes...I mean no, I mean...Ah you know what I mean!"_

**_"No I don't, enlighten me."_**

_"No, something is definitely up with her, and I'm not going to have you trying to take advantage of her in her current state of mind."_

_**"Taking advantage of her?! what kind of freak do you take me for?"**_

_"I don't mean it like that. I mean like...you...trying to bust a move...right now, it would be...highly inappropriate..."_

**_"I'm just trying to get you riled up so you can man up and take charge, because you can never do it on your own. I thought turning on the old libido would get you feeling manly and confident, hence helping you take charge... "_**

_"What the-Riling me up? Take charge? what the fuck are you talking about?"_

**_"Trying to get you to man up and get May to tell you what's wrong with her. Whatever it is, it's fucking her up. YOU are her friend, so YOU need to find out what's wrong, even if she doesn't like it. It's for her own good."_**

_"I already tried, she wouldn't open up...I really do want to help her..."_

**_"Then try harder, be more persistent!"_**

_"I-I'll try...soon, when we get to Fallarbor, I'll try again..."_

"Alright, I think I'm ready" May said, breaking Brendan away from his thoughts "let's get going." Brendan took another look at his friend. Not at her breasts this time, but at her face. He couldn't help feel sad when looking at her face. Her soft pretty face that was usually filled with energy and determination was now broken and sunken. Her brown skin seemed paler, and her eyes had heavy bags under them. Her smile was gone and replaced with a face trying its best to show no emotion, probably to try and hide what she was really feeling...pain, helpless, sorrow, anxiety, etc.

_"Why won't you let me help you?"_

"What's wrong?" May asked as she noticed the sad expression on Brendan's face. "N-Nothing" Brendan replied "if you're ready, let's get going."

"Let's go then" May said, and the two started west on Route 113.

* * *

Route 113 was an interesting route. The road was narrow and surrounded by sheer cliffs (like Route 111) at first. But when May and Brendan proceeded farther up the path, the area and trail gave way and grew wider. The cliffs were replaced by short hardy trees. The trees had to be hardy because in this part of Route 113 the wind blew in a way that brought ash from Mt. Chimney, resulting in the area being covered in a brown coat of the volcanic cinders.

**20 Minutes Later...**

After walking through the ashy path that was Route 113, May and Brendan finally reached a small farming community nestled up against the North Western hills. It was Fallarbor Town. Fallarbor Town was filled with yards and yards of small ranch houses surrounded by small fields that grew crops of odd looking fruits and vegetables that were hardy enough to grow in the harsh environment. The population consisted of small families consisting of children and their middle-aged parents. One thing May noticed was that everybody seemed determined and resilient. Probably because one had to be determined and resilient like the crops they grew here because if you weren't, the ashes and the lack of sunlight would destroy your livelihood (the crops) and ultimately you.

Brendan pulled out his pokenav "We should rest up at the pokemon center until the cable car gets fixed. Let's see where it is..." he studied the pokenav's screen for a short while "...okay, it's just up the street, c'mon."

"Okay" May replied as she followed Brendan up the ashy road toward the pokemon center. Soon the center's red roof came into view, and the two teens stepped inside. As soon as they stepped in, they felt a blast of cool air from an overhead AC.

_"It would've been nice if I had something like this back on Route 111, or that damn tunnel..." _May thought to herself. She was brought back into the real world by Brendan nudging her, and the two walked up to the counter with a smiling Nurse Joy behind it.

"Why hello you two, y'all must've traveled really far to come over here and visit our nice little town" the cheerful nurse said with a smile and a southern drawl "I mean just look at you, y'all are covered in sweat and ash! You must be tired, would you like a room?"

"Sure" May replied.

"Yeah that would be great, but can you also heal our pokemon?" Brendan added.

"Why of course!" Nurse Joy replied "give em here." May and Brendan handed their pokeballs over to Nurse Joy "I'll have em healed in no time, y'all just sit back and relax."

"Thanks" both trainers said as Nurse Joy took their pokeballs over to a healing apparatus. "So, you wanna go to the rooms, our check out the town?" Brendan asked May. She stood silent I thought. _"Should I stay here? For what? I can't sleep, I'm not going to be able to relax...On the other hand, what is there to do around here? The only thing they've got around here are farms and ash...what to do, what to do..."_

"So where are y'all from" Nurse Joy asked, breaking May away from her thoughts. "Littleroot Town" Brendan answered. "Wow Littleroot!" Nurse joy exclaimed in disbelief "now that's a far way to come, how and why'd you two end up here?"

"My friend and I were going to Lavaridge Town so she can get her next badge, but the cable car station is closed because the cable cars need to be repaired" Brendan answered.

"Repaired?" Nurse Joy said confused "they don't need to be repaired."

"What do you mean?" May said with a puzzled expression on her somber face.

"The repairmen who keep the cable cars up and running just fixed them yesterday" Nurse Joy replied "I know because they live here."

"B-But there were two guards that told us-"

"The cable car station doesn't have guards" Nurse Joy interrupted. Both May and Brendan looked at each other with shocked expressions, then at Nurse Joy, and back at each other, and finally at Nurse Joy. "If there are no guards..." May mumbled "and the cable car didn't need to be repaired" Brendan added.

"Who where the men at the station?"

May, Brendan, and Nurse Joy stood silent for a good long while, trying their best to make sense of the situation. Finally Nurse Joy spoke up "this is awful suspicious to me, but why would those imposters wanna keep folks away from the cable cars?"

"Well let's see..." Brendan muttered as he placed his index finger and thumb under his chin "...that cable car leads to..."

"Mount Chimney" May answered.

"Right, so if those guards are keeping people away from the station then they must not want people going up to Mt. Chimney..."

"Now the question is why those shady characters don't want nobody up on that there volcano" Nurse Joy replied. As she said this, the doors to the center opened, causing the three to turn around. Before them stood a pretty blonde haired woman in her early thirties. The woman's face gave a look of worry and anxiety.

"Why hello Mrs. Cozmo, how are you today!" Nurse Joy greeted cheerfully (despite the troubling news about the imposters at the cable car station).

"Oh hello Nurse Joy" Mrs. Cozmo said meekly "I was wondering if you've seen or heard from my husband Prof. Cozmo. I haven't heard from him for two days."

"Oh my" Nurse Joy muttered as she placed her hand over her mouth "I'm sorry ma'am, I haven't. Do you have any idea where he went?"

"Yes, he went with a group of people in red uniforms" Mrs. Cozmo replied "They said they would help him extract a meteorite he was looking for from Meteor Falls. They've been up there for three days. My husband said he would contact me every day, but so far he has only once, the first day..."

"And he hasn't said anything since?" Nurse joy asked. Mrs. Cozmo nodded "I was thinking maybe he had come into town for awhile, but nobody has seen him."

"Oh my..." Nurse Joy muttered

As Nurse Joy and Mrs. Cozmo talked about Prof. Cozmo's disappearance, May began to wonder if that and the imposters at the cable car station were related. It was somewhat weird that two questionable incidents would occur at almost the same time and overall same area. May even in her disoriented state could discern that this was not merely coincidence.

_"Hmmm, this sounds real suspicious."_

"Excuse me ma'am" May spoke up "do you have any idea who those people who contacted your husband were?"

"No idea" Mrs. Cozmo said shaking her head "but I didn't trust them, they looked real shady to me. I told my husband I had a bad feeling about them, but he said I was worrying too much..."

"Have you called the police?" Brendan asked.

"Police?" Mrs. Cozmo said confused.

"We don't have police here" Nurse Joy informed him "ever since drugs were legalized, law enforcement's funding was cut due to the drop in crime rates. Now only a few of cities have a police forces, but even then they are really small and have little resources. They can't do much of anythang, but it's usually okay since there isn't much crime in Hoenn anymore, but now..."

"We need it" Brendan said finishing Nurse Joy's sentence "...well have you asked anybody to help you go look for him?"

"We can't" Mrs. Cozmo replied "Meteor Falls lies just beyond Route 114, and Route 114 is home to many strong and dangerous pokemon. The folks around here aren't pokemon trainers, they wouldn't be able to go up against pokemon like that..."

"But we can" May said "we can go to Meteor Falls to look for your husband."

"You would do that for me!" Mrs. Cozmo exclaimed with her eyes beaming "oh that would be just wonderful, please bring him back safely."

"I'll try my best" May muttered just as Brendan tapped her on the shoulder "uh May, can I speak to you in private?"

"Sure" she replied as Brendan lead her away from Nurse Joy and Mrs. Cozmo "what's on your mind?"

"Are you crazy?!" Brendan said in an angry whisper "Have you been listening to what Mrs. Cozmo has been saying? It sounds like her husband got involved with something very dangerous, and now you want us to go getting involved too?!"

"Look Brendan you don't have to go, but I...I have to" May replied.

"No you don't!" Brendan said angrily "Alright, let's say you do go, and you find out criminals got him. What do you do then huh, tell me May what are YOU going to do?"

"What any sympathetic feeling human being would try to do, whatever I can to help!" May shot back "what if somebody YOU loved was in danger, and YOU couldn't do anything about it huh? And what if somebody who could help you didn't? How would you feel?"

Brendan stood silent for a moment "...you're right, let's do it." May nodded, and the two went back to the counter "are our pokemon fully healed?"

"They sure are" Nurse Joy replied as she took May and Brendan's pokeballs out of the healing apparatus, and handed them to the two young trainers. "Thank you" May and Brendan both said as they went toward the doors.

"Thank you for doing this for me, please be careful!" Mrs. Cozmo called out as May and Brendan exited the center and found themselves back in Fallarbor Town, amongst the ash and farmland.

Brendan pulled out his pokenav "alright, it looks like Route 114 is South of here...let's go."

"Yes let's" May replied as she and Brendan started down the ashy path and walked South passed fields of crops and hardy trees, making their way toward Route 114.

* * *

**7 Minutes Later...**

After heading South and leaving the Fallarbor Town limits, May and Brendan had crossed a bridge that was suspended over a large flowing river that originated from the peaks of the mountains to the west. The bridge was wide, and allowed for easy access to Route 114 despite no one actually daring to venture into that territory. So it's only real purpose to the townsfolk of Fallarbor was as a fishing area, the evidence shown with all the discarded lures on the edges of the bridge. The two teens were silent as they walked until Brendan broke the silence.

"Ummm May, can I ask you something?" he asked.

"What is it?" she replied.

"Back in the pokemon center when you said you HAD to do this, what did you mean?"

"...nothing" May lied.

"Come on May, I thought we were friends" Brendan said sadly. May sighed "We are, it's just that...I-It didn't mean anything okay."

"If we were really friends, you would be comfortable telling me what's bothering you, but I guess not..."

"Arrrrg fine!" May said finally giving in "look, back in Johto, I've seen some things okay. I've seen people get mugged, shot, stabbed, and other things I don't wish to talk about, but believe me they were horrible things. All this happened because nobody took charge, nobody tried to stop anything. The police never helped, and us regular citizens were to scared to do anything about it...I-I was too scared to do anything about it...There was a particular i-i-i-inci-inci-inci...Ahhhh look, just understand that after seeing all this happen before me and doing nothing about it, I need to help now. All that hesitation in the past had to be for something, it HAD to be. M-Maybe this is why. Maybe so I wouldn't hesitate again. Maybe this here is my..."

"Redemption?" Brendan said finishing her sentence.

"Yeah" May said in a deep breath "yeah, maybe this is my redemption so I can finally...forget..."

"Oh" Brendan said softly "I-I had no idea...I-I'm so sorr-"

"It's fine" May interrupted "let's just focus on getting to Meteor Falls and finding Prof. Cozmo."

"Fine by me" Brendan replied as they continued across the bridge.

* * *

**5 Minutes Later...**

After crossing the bridge, The sun was in a position indicating it was the afternoon, and May and Brendan found themselves in an expansive area of land that was flanked by rocky hills and mountains in every direction except the North where May and Brendan had come from. In the inner area were large patches of tall grassland. Luckily for the two teens, there was a narrow and jagged path that wound through the tall grass and lead to the rocky hills to the South. Surprisingly this area was not covered with ash, the most likely explanation was that the wind blew in a way that carried the ash over this strip of land, and disposed it onto Fallarbor Town and Route 113.

"Look here" Brendan said as he pointed to a sign near the start of the winding path "it says _"Meteor Falls at the end of the path. Estimated arrival time...20 Minutes"_ we're almost there!"

"That's great!" May said with a slight hint of optimism "let's get moving!"

"Right behind you" Brendan replied as he followed May into the winding and jagged path.

**20 Minutes Later...**

After traversing through the jagged grasslands (luckily for the two, they did not encounter any powerful or dangerous pokemon that would impede their task), they had made arrived at the base of the rocky southern hills and started making their way uphill. Soon the rocky trail arched to the right and soon came to a stop. In front of them stood a large opening leading into the side of one of the hills. Near the opening where three tan Jeeps.

"Someone's here" May muttered to Brendan "let's head inside." Brendan nodded and the two tip-toed into the opening.

Once inside, they made their way through a small narrow tunnel. It was constricting, but not dark. At first May thought it was from the light outside, but then May realized it originated from deeper within the cave.

_"This keep getting better and better..."_

Soon the small narrow passage opened up into a large expansive cavern with various protruding overlooks, and a large waterfall that gave the cave a sense of life. May couldn't help but notice that the cave also gave off a weird sort of spiritual energy. Even though she (and Brendan) were anxious, this weird energy helped calm their nerves.

"Alright Cozmo, you gonna tell us where the meteorite is, or are we going to have to remove another one of your fingers?"

May and Brendan went down a small path that lead to one of the various overlooks, and fixed their eyes onto the bottom of the cave. There stood four men. One wore a lab coat, and had white medical wrapping no his left hand over where his pinkie, middle, and ring finger should have been. The other three wore red uniforms, red hoods, tinted sunglasses, and red bandannas that covered the lower halfs of their face. The one in the middle had bloody garden shears in his hand, while the other two held his arms.

"You all are fucking psychos!" the man in the lab coat (Prof. Cozmo) shouted "dig it up your fucking selves!"

"Well if you want to play hard ball..." the hooded man with the garden shears muttered as he walked up to Prof. Cozmo and gestured for the other hooded man to lift his arm. The man with the shears placed Prof. Cozmo's finger in between the blades. Brendan's eyes were wide and his mouth was agape as he looked in disbelief of what was about to unfold before him. May on the other hand looked at the hooded men with an icy stare filled with anger. She grabbed her pendant and gripped it tightly.

After a long tense moment that seemed like it would go on forever, the hooded man closed the shears.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Prof. Cozmo shrieked as the blades sliced into his finger, cutting into the bone. However, the first shear did not completely sever the finger, so one more cut was made. This time the finger was severed with a loud _CRUNCH _followed by another one of Prof. Cozmo's pained blood-curling shrieks. Brendan gasped in horror while May's teeth gritted tightly.

"Oh shit!" Brendan whispered "t-t-t-they cut his finger off! They fucking cut it off!"

"Motherfuckers..." May muttered through her gritted teeth. "W-W-What do we do?" Brendan asked feverishly. May released her grip on her pendant and grabbed a rock from the ground "obviously we are NOT dealing with people interested in talking things out" she then unclipped a pokeball from her belt "we are going to have to deal with these psychotic fuckers head on!"

"M-May did you see what they did to that man?" Brendan replied "what the hell are we going to do to stop them?!"

"We have to try!" May shot back "they CUT his finger off, we need to do something!"

Backon the cavern floor, Prof. Cozmo finally gave in to the hooded men "alright I'll tell you where it is" he said with beads of sweat falling from his brow and droplets of blood falling from his new stump "it's buried near the edge of the waterfall, I buried it there after I realized what you were all up to no good."

"Thank you for your cooperation the man with the shears said as he grabbed a shovel that leaned on one of the many rocks in the cave and walked over to the edge of the small body of water that the waterfall created and started to dig. May and Brendan continued to argue, just as the hooded man finally finished digging, and picked up a small brown meteorite from the ground "here it is hehehe, time to head up to Mount Chimney!"

"Yeah let's get the hell outta here!" one of the hooded men said as he kneed the Professor in the stomach and threw him to the floor.

"Look they are about to get away, I NEED to stop them!" May said angrily as she stood up to try and confront the hooded men, but Brendan quickly brought her down "no! this is way out of our league, we have to tell..."

"Who?!" May shot back "who else is going to stop them?!" Just as May said this however, she and Brendan both heard voices and frantic footsteps coming from the narrow entrance tunnel. May and Brendan went low behind a rock, peeking out just enough to see what was happening. Out from the tunnel came none other than Archie, the man May had encountered in Slateport's Oceanic Museum. He was accompanied by four muscular Team Aqua grunts with their normal blue uniforms and blue bandannas. The differences they had from the grunts May had encountered before were the tinted goggles on their faces and the black bandannas they wore to cover the lower halfs of their faces. They all had metal bats in their hands.

"All right, these Magma fuckers are around here somewhere" Archie muttered angrily just as the hooded Team Magma grunts came up from the cavern floor and were now face-to-face with Team Aqua.

"Oh shit."

"Well well" Archie chuckled as he slowly grazed his metal bat with his index finger "looks like we caught up to you before you could take that infernal space rock to Mt. Chimney. Why don't you all just give us the meteorite, and we'll make the beating much less painful."

"Or we could slip by why you're all coughing and shit" one of the magma grunts replied as he pulled something from his uniform and threw it onto the ground. A large black cloud of smoke erupted from the objects as they hit the floor causing vision to be obscured for Team Aqua, May, and Brendan, and making the aforementioned parties and individuals cough violently. May and Brendan ducked down and went into a fetal position to hide the sound of their coughs.

After a short while they stopped coughing. They stayed in their positions and listened intently. "Damn it they got away" they heard what they assumed to be one of the Team Aqua grunts. "Shit, they're probably heading to Mt. Chimney. Come on, we have to go!" they heard Archie say angrily, followed by a group of footsteps that headed in the direction of Meteor Falls entrance. May and Brendan waited until the footsteps grew fainter and fainter, until they could not be heard at all. They stood up and went down to the cavern floor to check on Prof. Cozmo.

"Prof. Cozmo!" May exclaimed as she ran over to the mutilated Professor and helped him up onto his feet.

"Wha-w-who are you?" the Professor said with a shaky voice as he clutched his left wrist.

"You're wife sent us to find you" Brendan said as he caught up to May "are you okay, I mean I know you just got your fingers cut off so you're not alright in that sense..."

"I'm fine" Prof. Cozmo replied as May pulled out a clean rag and placed it onto the bloody stump. She put pressure on the wound which made Prof. Cozmo grunt in pain "I should have known better than to trust those assholes, but the opportunity to finally get my meteorite...it was too much for me to turn down. Now I've paid with my fingers..."

"It's not your fault sir" Brendan said, patting the man on his back "you couldn't have known how dangerous those criminals were."

"Yeah, but now they have the meteorite and what they are going to do with it is absolutely diabolical" Prof. Cozmo said with worry in his voice. "What are they going to do?" May asked.

"...they are going to use the meteorite's power to drain Mt. Chimney."

"WHAT?!" both May and Brendan exclaimed in disbelief, too shocked to say anything else. "Yeah, hopefully someone will stop them because they're ain't no way anybody in our town is going to stop them."

Both May and Brendan were silent in light of the news. Finally May spoke up "we need to get out of here."

"Right" Brendan agreed as he and May each placed one of Prof. Cozmo's arms around their necks and started to head back toward Meteor Falls' entrance. Once outside, they spotted one of the tan Jeep. The other two most likely taken by Team Aqua and Team Magma.

"We can use that to get back into town fast" May said as she went over to the Jeep and tried to open the door

_"shit, locked." _

May looked around and spotted a rock near her feet. She picked it up, winded up her arm, and flung the rock at the driver window.

_CRASH_

The glass shattered almost instantly. May unlocked the door and opened the side door to help Brendan ease Prof. Cozmo into the backseat. With Prof. Cozmo strapped in, Brendan closed the door and turned toward May "you know how to drive?" May nodded "automatic not stick."

"Great, you drive" he said as he went to the passenger side while May sat in the drivers seat. Luckily for her, the key was in the ignition. She turned the keys, and the engine started up. "Here we go" May muttered as she stepped on the accelerator, and the Jeep started to move down the hill.

"Holy shit May, keep it steady!" Brendan said aloud as the Jeep gained speed as it rolled downhill, "Calm down!" May replied, but she too was a little worried. She had only driven twice, and her friend Nick was always there to guide her. Now she was on her own...well not entirely, but you know what I mean.

The car gained even more speed, making Brendan and May tenser.

_THUD_

The Jeep hit the bottom of the hill with some force, but it was intact and perfectly fine much to May and Brendan's relief. They continued through Route 114.

* * *

**6 Minutes Later...**

_SCREECH_

May stepped on the brakes and the Jeep came to a stop in front of Fallarbor Town's pokemon center. The loud noise the car made caused Nurse Joy and Mrs. Cozmo to exit the pokemon center and head outside.

"Oh Henry!" Mrs. Cozmo exclaimed as soon as she saw her husband inside the Jeep. She ran over to the vehicle as Brendan opened the door and helped Prof. Cozmo out.

She ran up to her husband and gasped as soon as she saw the bloody stumps on his left hand "Oh my god, what happened to you?!"

"You were right honey" Prof. Cozmo said "those people were no good. I should've listened to you..."

"Oh henry you poor thing!" Mrs. Cozmo said as she buried herself in her husbands shoulder and sobbed "you poor thing..."

"Hey everybody, I need to tell you something VERY important" Brendan said aloud to get everyone's attention. Just as he said this though he heard the Jeep's engine start up. Startled for a second, he walked over to the driver side and opened the door "uh May, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to Mt. Chimney" she replied plainly. Brendan's eyes grew wide when he heard her "Mt. Chimney?! Are you crazy!? Didn't you hear what they were going to drain it?!"

"Yes I heard, but I have to-"

"NO you DON'T!" Brendan interrupted "you don't HAVE to do all this. You're putting yourself in danger when you really don't need to."

"No Brendan you don't understand, I have to do this" May replied "I really NEED to."

"What for redemption? Just cause you didn't act years ago?" Brendan said with a loud voice "Look I don't know what exactly happened to you, but that's in the fucking past May, get over it!"

"Past is happening again" May muttered "can't just let it happen, can't just watch people die...You want to know what's wrong with me? I'll tell you. I let my friend die because I did nothing. Now if they drain that mountain, many others will die and I'll I would've done is just watched. I'm not going to do it again. I need this so my head can stop killing me. It won't go away until I do this don't you see? This i-is my chance to make it right! Then my head will be all better! I NEED this!" and with that said, May stepped on the gas, and speed off toward Route 113.

Brendan looked off in that direction until the Jeep slowly disappeared from sight.

_"Oh no, this is bad! She's going over to that damn volcano. Shit shit shit! Well it looks like I have to go now, cause I can't let her go alone...SHIT!"_

* * *

May speed through the ashy path that was Route 113 at full speed. She was desperate to get to Mt. Chimney, she was desperate to stop Team Magma from draining the volcano, she was desperate to rid herself of her torment. This had to be the answer. This wasn't happening for nothing, this had to be the event that would set her free, it HAD to be.

Few more minutes of speeding, and May found herself at the entrance of the tunnel shortcut they had used to get to Route 113 quickly. May turned the car off and let out a deep breath.

_"This is it, my torment's over. Once I stop those Magma assholes..."_

May exited the car and calmly walked over to the back and opened the trunk. Inside were a mess of papers and other things May did not care for. What she was looking for was a weapon. Seeing that Team Magma and Team Aqua were packing more than just pokeballs, she knew she needed something else.

_"Come on, I know there's something in here...ahhhh yes!"_

May finally found something she could use...a tire iron. She closed the trunk and went into the tunnel with her weapon in hand.

The tunnel was just like it was before, hot and very uncomfortable. But May really didn't notice it this time, her desperation to save people and to rid herself of torment drove her through that tunnel like a metal slug through an anorexics body. She soon came out the other end and walked toward the cable car station. Upon arrival she found blotches of blood on the ground and the two imposter guards unconscious.

_"Looks like Team Aqua arrived already..."_

May noticed a bottle of Tequila near one of the guards.

_"Probably having themselves a little fun before the Aquas came and beat the shit out of them."_

May picked up the bottle of Tequila and walked over to the cable car station building and entered.

The inside of the station was in disarray. Chairs and potted ferns were turned over and sprawled across the floor, most likely from Team Aqua's mad scramble to get to the peak of Mt. Chimney. Luckily for May, there was still a cable car left so she could head up. She entered the cable car and started it up. It sputtered to life, and slowly started to ascend along the volcano.

As May sat in the cable car, she suddenly became anxious. She realized that she was going to be up against a whole gang of radicals that were most likely armed and ready to fight for their cause.

_"Oh my god...am I up for this?"_

May grew even more anxious. She took a swig of the Tequila bottle she had in her hand, and placed it down to rub her pendant.

_"Good god, I think I'm heading up to a rumble, the biggest most violent rumble ever..."_

Indeed it would. She had never been in a rumble, but her friend Nick had been in many, and even he had come back with many bruises and black eyes. Those rumbles were over turf and usually between small groups of cholos or tagging crews. This was going to be different. This was between to insane radical eco-terrorist groups fighting over their destructive ideologies...

_"Damnit May get it together, they aren't that bad, you've known worse...You've seen worse. You've dealt with worse. These punks are just a bunch of hippies that got off their weed. They ain't stopping me from keeping that damn volcano from blowing up, they ain't stopping me from saving my sanity!"_

May began to recall all the fights she had been in, and how she always felt the same way she was now before the fight. Anxious and unsure of herself, but she always won. Why? Because when the time came to actually throw down, she became an animal. Nobody would expect the savagery that came from a pretty little five foot four girl. These Team Aqua and Magma morons were no different. Sure they had something they were fighting for that would cause them to fight violently and savagely, but May had something to fight for too. Her redemption, the innocent, and to save her sanity.

Desperation was her strongest ally.

May took another swig of her Tequila and placed it into her fanny pack. By now she was upright and on her toes, swinging the tire iron by moving her wrist in a circular motion. The cable car was almost to the top, she could tell because it got hotter, and she began to hear the faint war cries, and cries of pain from the two groups that were locked in battle at the top of Mt. Chimney.

They were NOT going to stop her.

* * *

**_The Battle for Mt. Chimney_**

The cable car came to a stop. Now she could hear the cries of battle clearly, the only thing separating her from it were the cable car's doors. May swung them open and stepped out onto the sweltering summit.

All around her, a violent sea of red and blue caught up in a storm of violence. The grunts used their fists and various melee weapons to inflict harm upon each other. Numerous Numel and Carvanha fought alongside their warring trainers, inflicting vicious bites and poundings onto each other. Some of the fallen lay screaming in pain with streams of blood flowing from their injuries. This did not faze May however, the alcohol and desperation had numbed her sense of fear. All she felt was adrenaline coursing through her body, which brought with it rage, and the only thing May knew how to deal with rage was with violence.

She gripped the tire iron tightly in her hand, and looked around to find something or someone that would give her an idea of where the meteorite was, or who had it. Amidst the fighting, May spotted Archie with two hooded grunts around him.

"You fuckers want some!?" Archie yelled as he struck with all his might one of the hooded Magma grunts on the head with a metal bat. The Magma grunt fell to the floor almost instantly with his arms and legs stiff and fixed into the position he had before Archie struck him. The body twitched while blood soaked the red bandanna over the lower half of the grunt's face, eventually spilling out from his mouth and hitting the rocky ground.

The other Magma grunt swung a large metal rod with a piece of concrete on the end. Archie blocked with his metal bat by slamming it against the concrete club and sending it flying out of the grunt's hands. Archie then slammed the metal bat onto the side of the grunt's neck causing the grunt to scream and fall to the floor.

"Archie!" May called out.

Archie who was still caught up in the battle, turned around and swung. May ducked and swung her tire iron onto his knee cap with all her force.

"AHHHH FUCK!" Archie screamed as he fell to the floor and clutched his knee "WHAT THE FUCK, YOU BROKE MY FUCKNG KNEECAP!"

"You swung at me you prick!" May shot back.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE ANYWAY!?" Archie yelled, still clutching his knee. "I'm here to stop Team Magma, what else do you think I'm doing here?!" May shouted back

"Fuck Fuck!" Archie said with a loud, but noticeably lowered voice "look I'm sorry I swung at you...Fuck that fucking hurts!...I didn't realize it was you, haven't you noticed that everything is pretty god damn chaotic right now!"

"I called your name out" May reminded him. "Yeah yeah, fuck!...I didn't think you would come up here, but then again, you always turn up where you're not supposed to...Do you got a death wish or something?"

"I've got problems alright, look just tell me where Team Magma took the meteorite" May said sternly, clutching her tire iron tightly. "Crazy assholes took it to the top, it's with their leader Maxie" Archie replied.

"Good, that's all I needed to know."

Archie began to chuckle "hehehe, looks like we're on the same team huh...AH FUCK IT STILL HURTS!"

"Let's get this straight" May said as she brandished her tire iron at Archie "I'm not on the same team as you. We both know you're not doing this to help anybody, you're just doing this because Team Magma is your rival."

"Oh, and I suppose you're here for the poor innocent people" Archie said with a smirk coming across his face "I'm sure it's not because of your...'problems' is what you called it?"

May gritted her teeth. She knew he was partially right.

"Whatever" Archie continued "you don't have to like me our my organization, but right now the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so we're partners!"

"Call it what you want" May muttered as she dropped her tire iron and picked up Archie's bat "I'm borrowing this."

"Give em hell you crazy brat!" Archie shouted as May started to make her way up to the peak of Mt. Chimney. Archie pulled out a radio "to all Team Aqua personnel, do not engage the little brat with the green bandanna, she's on our side. Help her in any way you can..."

* * *

May ran uphill, past opposing grunts locked in fist fights and hand to hand combat. She would notice some Magma grunts charge at her, but they were always stopped by a Team Aqua grunt.

_"Huh, I guess Archie told them to help me get to the top..."_

The higher she went though, the less Aqua Grunts there were. Soon there were none but Team Magma.

"Look someone's trying to get up the hill!" A Magma grunt holding a metal rod yelled. "Let's send her rolling back down!" yelled another holding a lead pipe.

May continued uphill towards the two grunts silently and focused. The first grunt swung his metal rod. May jumped to the side and swung her bat against the back of the grunt's knees. The grunt screamed in pain and fell to the floor.

"You'll pay for that!" the other grunt yelled as she swung her lead pipe against May's left arm.

"AHHH GOD DAMNIT!" May shrieked as she let go of the bat with her left hand. The grunt swung again, but May moved out of the way this time and tried to swing the bat over the back of the female grunts head, but using only one hand, she missed. The grunt recovered, and swung her lead pipe in a sweeping motion toward May's legs. Seeing this, May jumped and threw herself against the grunt. Both toppled to the floor.

"Get the fuck off of me!" the grunt yelled as she started to swing her fist into May's side.

May grunted in pain. "Fuck You!" May yelled as she slammed her forehead onto the Magma grunts face, ending the struggle with a quick knockout. May quickly got off the defeated Magma, and clung to her throbbing arm.

_"Fuck it hurts!"_

"Owwww..."

May turned around and saw the other grunt trying to get back up. "I don't think so" she muttered as she ran over to the grunt trying to get back up and kicked him right on the side of his jaw, sending back to dreamland. "That takes care of that" May said in a pained voice as she picked up the lead pipe on the ground next to her and continued uphill.

Soon May reached the peak. Near the top two Team Magma members stood, not about to let anyone reach the top. May noticed one of the two was much bigger and muscular than his counterpart. He also had a different style red uniform and hood. May figured he was an Admin or something like that.

"Look an intruder!" the Admin yelled "let's take her out!"

The grunt and Admin charged at May.

_"Shit I'm to hurt to take on two, what am I going to do?!"_

* * *

**Back to Brendan...**

Brendan had run across Route 113 in a full sprint. He had to go find May, he NEEDED to see if she was okay.

_"I hope she's okay..."_

After running for so long, he finally made it to the entrance to the hot tunnel they had used to get to Route 113. Once he saw the Jeep, he ran over to it and looked inside.

_"May's not in here...shit, she's probably already on Mt. Chimney!"_

"Ahhh fuck!" Brendan panted as he ran into the tunnel

_"I'm coming May, I'm coming..."_

* * *

**Back to May...**

May raised her arm and threw her lead pipe like a Tomahawk. The lead pipe cut through the air and hit the grunt squarely on the forehead knocking him out.

_"Got him-oh shit!"_

BAM

The Admin tackled May to the floor and pinned her arms and legs down with his weight. "G-Get off me!" May squealed as she tried to squirm away, but she could not.

"Hehehe, this will show you what happens when you try and mess with Team Magma's plans!" the Admin shouted as he grabbed May's bangs and slammed her head against the rocky ground. May gasped as she felt an immense stinging pain surge throughout her head. The Admin lifted her head once again to slam it against the ground. Thinking quickly, May saw that the Admin's arm was close to her face as he pulled her bangs to lift her head up. She opened her mouth wide and bit down on the Admin's arm before he could slam her head.

"Ahhhh!" the Admin cried as he jumped in pain. The shift in weight was just enough for May to get her right arm out from under the Admin's body, and swing with all her might.

BAM

Getting hit squarely on the jaw knocked the Admin out. He slumped down next to May, his arm sprawled out across her torso. She used all her strength to lift the man's heavy arm off her small body, and got back up.

"That was a close one" May muttered as she rubbed the back of her throbbing head, picked up the lead pipe on the ground, and continued trudging uphill

_"So very near the peak."_

...

...

...

"Made it!" May proclaimed as she finally reached the top. She was greeted by the sight of a tall lanky red haired man in a red and black trench coat with the Team Magma emblem on each shoulder. Next to him was a peculiar machine that had a hose that seemed to dip all the way down into the volcano. On top of the machine was a glass shield that encased a brown rock. It was the meteor.

The red haired man turned around to face May. "Huh, the vile Aqua dogs sent a mere child to try and stop me?" the man said with a scoff "I thought I had worthy rivals..."

"You must be Maxie" a battered May replied with disrespectful tone.

"Hmpf what a rude little shit you are, how dare you say my name with that tone of voice" Maxie said angrily.

"Look here Maxie" May said as she weakly pointed at him "I can't let you do what you are about to do."

"Oh really?' Maxie chuckled "and how will you stop me might I ask?"

"Look I don't want to fight, I already had enough with your grunts" May replied pointing behind her "I was hoping maybe you could be reasoned with."

"Oh, a warrior of words are you" Maxie chuckled again "alright, reach me!"

"If you drain this mountain, do you know how many human and pokemon lives you'll endanger? You could be responsible for the death of hundreds, and no matter how high and mighty you regard yourself to be, you have no right and no authority to determine whether someone should live or die."

Maxie began to laugh "hehehehe, of course I have the authority, if I can do it, then I must have it right? But that's besides the point. What I am doing here is actually quite noble in its aim. You see, I am trying to expand the landmass!"

"What?!" May said in disbelief "you got to be kidding me!"

"Look ignorant child" Maxie said with a cold condescending tone "Hoenn is in need of more land. Have you ever stopped to think about the growing population? As society advances and grows, population does as well. We need a place to house the next generation, so we Team Magma will strive to give the future generations a very precious gift...land. Land that they can use to work on, to raise families on, to _live _on. You see, we Team Magma are doing this for the greater good."

"I've heard enough" May said as she approached Maxie and the peculiar machine with her lead pipe raised "I guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way..."

"Get away" Maxie yelled as he backed away and reached into his coat. His hand remerged holding a pokeball. "Come on out Mightyena!"

Out of Maxie's pokeball came a large canine-like pokemon with black and gray fur.

_Grrrrrr..._

May gasped in horror as soon as she saw the pokemon.

_"Oh no, not now, why now?"_

May's legs and arms began to loosen, and she dropped to her knees as she stared wide eyed at the large wolf-like pokemon slowly bearing down on her, its mouth foaming and teeth beared. It stared at her with bloodshot eyes.

_"This can't be happening."_

May dropped her lead pipe and whimpered. Her vision became blurry and her senses all became disoriented. Her previous drive, the desperation that had led her all the way up the hill was easily overcome by her fear, her psychological fault.

_Grrrrr..._

"Ahhhh scared of dogs are you" May heard Maxie say faintly though her failing ears "that's convenient hehehehe..."

The world started to warp, and her mind started to spin. Slower and slower...

_THUD_

May fell to the floor. She had fainted.

"Well well, looks like no one is going to stop me" Maxie chuckled as he recalled his Mightyena and turned toward the machine "soon, so soon..."

...

...

...

**Cliffhanger! Ha, sorry folks we'll find out what happens next chapter. I'm really sorry this one took so long, it was really long and I was debating whether to make the battle for Mt. Chimney like the games or to make it like...well you read it. I just hope you all enjoyed this version of the battle. I'll try not to take long with the next chapter, I really will.**

**Oh I also would like to tell everyone something. If you enjoy Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire retellings, you should read Emerald: May Takes Hoenn By Storm by fellow author Reborn Dark Phoenix. It's very promising, and delivers battle sequences amazingly. **

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!**

_**Quick Note: If you have a problem with the violence in my story, please PM me so I can tone it down.**_


	23. I Can't Keep Going

** I Can't Keep Going...**

_**A/N: So I've gotten some replies from my fellow reader/authors that the violence in my story is not a problem, so...On with the violence! There shall be more bloodshed in my story! Just kidding, it won't consume my story, but when it does come about, it WILL be brutal and it WILL be unforgiving. An example will be in this chapter, so get ready for that.**_

_** -N-Badger97**_

* * *

**In the previous chapter May had fought her way to the top of Mt. Chimney to confront Team Magma's leader Maxie, who was planning to drain Mt. Chimney in hopes of finding Groudon so he could expand the landmass. After a 'pleasant' conversation, May decided there was no reaching Maxie and figured she would take things into her own hands, and destroy the machine Maxie was going to use to complete his nefarious plans. Unfortunately for May, Maxie released his Mightyena which caused May to faint. Now it seems nobody will stop Maxie and Team Magma...**

"Foolish little girl" Maxie chuckled as he looked over May's fainted body lying on the rocky ground. Her chest heaving in and out and sweat seeping from her pores due to the searing heat that came from the magma inside the volcano.

Maxie pulled out a cigar and a lighter. He lit the cigar and placed the butt in his mouth "you've got courage kid I'll give you that, beating the crap out of my grunts to try and stop me" he said as a cloud of tobacco smoke escaped his mouth "but you're not getting in the way of my plans. No, this volcano's blowing up whether you like it or not...be a shame to leave you up here when the lava comes out though..." Maxie started to pace around May's unconscious body "even though I think you're a meddling brat, I like you." he kneeled down so he was close to May's face, and blew a puff of smoke "tell you what, my chopper's coming soon. I think it has enough space to carry you. When the time comes, I'll strap you in and drop you off at the nearest town we come across, oh and I mean _drop _quite literally hehehe, don't worry though, it won't be from a fatal height. Just high enough so you get bruised, or god willing some broken bones..."

Maxie stood up and wiped the sweat from his brow "god it's hot up here." He reached into his trench coat and pulled out a radio "This is Maxie to chopper one, do you read me?

_"Loud and clear sir" _came a voice from the other end.

"Tell the rest of the team to pull out off here, this machine should be ready to blow out this mountain in about twenty minutes, so I want you up here to pick me up in five, you got that?"

_"Yes sir, we'll do as you ask."_

"Good" Maxie replied as he switched off his radio and placed it back in his trench coat "It won't be long now" he chuckled as he looked at his sleek metal machine, the contraption that will finally bring his plan for Hoenn one step closer to becoming a reality "soon, soon we'll have Groudon...and then we can save Hoenn from the ravages of overpopulation..."

Maxie continued to look onto his machine with a smile on his face. He had finally done it, there was no way anybody could stop him from draining Mt. Chimney and obtaining Groudon...

Suddenly...

_BOOM_

Maxie ducked down as his machine burst into a thousand flying metal fragments in an instant. When Maxie got back up and opened his eyes, his machine was gone. All that was left were metal fragments strewn about the area, black soot where the machine use to stand, and in the middle of the soot lying on the ground was the meteorite still intact. Maxie stood with his mouth agape, causing his cigar to fall from his mouth. He was trying to process what happened. One second his machine was fine, the next it was blown to bits.

"H-How?" he stammered still in disbelief "W-Why?!" Maxie stood silent for a few seconds, then "...ARRRRGGGG! MY MACHINE! I WAS SO DAMN CLOSE AND, AND, IT JUST BLEW UP! H-HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?! WHY NOW!?

As Maxie raged, a group of five men on the other side of the mountain looked toward Maxie and his destroyed machine. All of them wore casual button up shirts that varied in color, black bullet-proof vests, regular blue jeans with kneepads, and elbowpads. Each one wore ski masks except two. The two exceptions wore black bandannas over the lower halves of their faces. They all carried large M4 carbines with the exception of one who was lying down. He had a hook on his left hand, and was carrying a large fifty caliber sniper rifle, with smoke still escaping from the end of the barrel. One of the bandanna wearing men grabbed his radio and placed it near his mouth.

"You can breathe a sigh of relief jefe, Mt. Chimney ain't blowing up anytime soon."

_"Goo work" _came Jonathan's voice from the other end _"return to Lilycove, we've still got work to do."_

"Alright then jefe" the man said as he swithched the radio off and turned toward the group "it's time we got off this fucking rock. A whrilibird will be waiting for us at the base of this volcano so let's get moving."

The three ski mask wearing troopers nodded and started the long trek downhill. The man with the hook hand stood up and dusted off his pants "let's get going then...I still can't believe you killed them...Jonathan said not to kill anyone."

"I couldn't NOT kill him" the bandanna wearing man chuckled as he started to walk downhill "don't worry, I'll take care of the bodies. A buzz saw and some sulfuric acid will do the trick!"

"You're a fucking psycho dude" the man with the hook hand said as he followed the bandanna wearing man downhill. "Hey don't lob factual statements as if they were insults at me ese!" the bandanna wearing man said with a non-serious tone "besides, Jonathan said to TRY our best not to kill anyone. I did my best to hold back, but hey, he was RIGHT there. His neck was glistening ever so like a beacon. It just beckoned me to plant my machete against it!"

"I don't know how the fuck Jonathan has dealt with you for so long. I've fought over in Qari for five years, and the worst things I've ever seen in my life have been from the sadistic shit you've done. What the fuck does that say about you man?"

"It says I'm not a boring guy" the bandanna wearing man muttered. The man with the hook hand shook his head and the two continued down the mountain

* * *

**30 Minutes Earlier...**

A large black helicopter tore through the windy sky of central Hoenn heading toward the Northern base of Mt. Chimney. The rotating blades gave a strong metallic roar that deafened the ears of the occupants inside the helicopter. The people in question were: three HFHSS troopers, Admin Miklo, and Admin Esteban.

"I don't know why Jonathan had you all come with me" Miklo said aloud so the roaring blades would not drown out his words. He pointed to the three troopers in the chopper with him "I could complete the mission without anyone's help" he then turned toward Esteban "especially you, I'm going to have enough problems keeping these rookies from trouble. Know I have to look out for your ass...well I should say everybody that you lay your eyes upon you crazy motherfucker."

"Oh Miklo" Esteban chuckled "You know, we wouldn't have to come if what you said was true. But judging by that hook on your left hand, you need us to make sure you don't screw up again, or you might get a hook on your right hand as well!"

"It was a fluke alright" Miklo muttered as he lifted his sniper rifle onto his lap "and the reason I don't want you with me is...well...I-It's just that whenever we've gone on missions together, you end up...killing or maiming someone just for kicks."

"I haven't been on any mission with you in years. Oh and for the record, all those missions we've been on together required us to kill and maim" Esteban replied "and that right there is another reason why I am here. I haven't gone on any real missions since we stopped selling Mun. All I do now is stay at the headquarters training the new recruits. Do you know how boring that gets?"

"I think there's a reason Jonathan put you in charge of that. It's because you're an unhinged fucking psycho, and I haven't even known you my whole life. Jonathan has, and I feel sorry for him" Miklo said as he ran his index finger along his curved hook.

"You make it seem as if I'm some unfeeling monster" Esteban said with mock sadness in his voice "well I'm not I'll have you know. I'm perfectly sane...well at least I perceive myself to be..."

"Uh huh" Miklo muttered sarcastically "fucking psycho..." Hearing this, Esteban stuck his tongue at him "am not."

"Alright everybody, we're about to land" the pilot said as he slowly started to land the helicopter near the Northern base.

"Alright everyone, get your gear ready!" Esteban yelled as he tied his black bandanna over his lower face. The three troopers put the ski masks over there head, and grabbed extra 5.56 rounds for their M4s. "Is everyone loaded for bear?" Esteban asked once more.

"Yes sir!" the three troopers yelled in unison.

"You bet" Miklo said as he tied his bandanna on, and lifted his sniper rifle close to his chest.

The Helicopter soon touched the ground. Admin Esteban, Admin Miklo, and the three troops all piled out. "We'll be waiting for you here, you should be back by here in forty five minutes" the pilot said aloud so the group of five could hear him over the chopper blades still spinning quite fast, even though the helicopter was turned off.

"Look here Mr. Chopper pilot" Esteban said as he unsheathed his large machete that was usually settled loosely next to his hip. It was an old beat up thing with a maple handle. The blade had the usual broad side for hacking in front, and a serrated back for sawing. The blade was also smudged and scratched from years of use, but still very sharp. "You don't tell us when we SHOULD be back, you're not the ones executing the mission, are you!?"

"N-No sir" the pilot stammered "I-I just meant-"

"I hear anymore foolishness out of your mouth, you'll soon be very intimate with Mixie here!" Esteban said with an eerie grin as he brandished his large machete near the window of the helicopter so the pilot could get a good look at his possible demise "get an eyeful wey. This could be the last thing you see coming toward your face if you mutter a bunch of nonsense at me like that again, got it?"

**(A/N: In case you're wondering, Mixie is the name Esteban gave to his machete).**

"Y-Yes sir, I-I really didn't mean a-any disrespect" the pilot said with a absolutely terrified expression on his face.

"Good!" Esteban said with an unsettling cheerfulness "now why don't you give us a happy smile, it will make us all feel much more comfortable going up to the top of this rock."

The pilot managed to give a weak fake smile. "Now THIS is a Kodak moment!" Esteban cackled "come on everyone, we've got some Magma fuckers to kill!"

"Damnit Esteban we're not killing them!" Miklo said angrily "we're just here to destroy their machine, remember?"

"Jeez I remember now" Esteban said as he backed away from Miklo with his hands up "don't go getting your panties in a knot."

"Just please don't kill anyone" Miklo pleaded "please try and control yourself."

"Fine, I'll TRY..." Esteban pouted. "Thank you" Miklo said as he turned toward the three troops who had been waiting patiently for their next orders "alright everyone let's get moving. You two" Miklo pointed at two of the three troopers "you take the left and right flanks. You" he pointed to the last trooper "you stay a few yards ahead to tell us-"

"No!" Esteban shouted "I want to be the point man, he could cover the back!"

"Alright, whatever you say" Miklo replied as he gestured for the last trooper to take up position in the back. The trooper nodded and got into position. "Okay Esteban, lead the way."

"Gladly" Esteban replied as the squad began to trudge uphill.

**15 Minutes Later...**

The slope was very rocky, and had many protrusions that the squad could use to take cover just in case there happened to be a Magma, or even an Aqua squad on patrol or something like that.

The HFHSS squad continued uphill at a fast and steady pace, their endurance peaked from all the physical conditioning they had undergone (the troopers got theirs from basic and advanced training, while the Admins got theirs from years of experience).

"We're almost uphill, that's good" Miklo muttered as he looked at the watch on his wrist. Suddenly Esteban who was farther uphill (since he was point man) quickly sprang behind one of the many rocky protrusions "Everybody stop and get to cover!" he said in a loud whisper. The squad instantly found protrusions where they could keep themselves hidden. Miklo who was downhill with the three troopers, silently made his way up to Esteban "what's going on?"

"We've got three Magma grunts up ahead. They're armed with metal rods and shit like that" Esteban replied "They're most likely over here as insurance just in case Team Aqua wanted to attack from here. Judging by their numbers, that was unlikely."

"Alright, so we go around them" Miklo said as he turned toward the troopers and gave them hand signals to let them in on the situation. "Hehehe, yeah we'll go around them" Esteban chuckled. Suddenly Esteban sprang out from the rocky protrusion. Miklo looked on in horror as Esteban raised his M4 at the grunts.

"OH SHIT!" the grunts cried as Esteban pulled the trigger.

_BAM_

_BAM_

Esteban fired two shots. The first bullet hit the grunt on the right. The bullet crashed into the grunt's skull, spraying the ground with blood, skull fragments, and brain matter, while also showcasing Esteban's excellent marksmanship. The second bullet ripped through the grunt on the left's neck. The high caliber bullet left part of the neck with a large gaping hole that caused the head to swivel and sway by a lone patch of skin. The last grunt looked on in horror as his comrades collapsed next to him.

"You better get them legs moving!" Esteban cackled as he placed his M4 on the ground, unsheathed his machete, and sprinted toward the last grunt.

"Esteban what the hell are you doing!?" Miklo yelled as he beckoned the troopers to move up. Esteban did not reply, all his attention was on quenching his insatiable bloodlust. "Why are you running? I'm not a scary guy!"

"Ohmygod, ohmygod!" the grunt said under his breath as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. It was to no avail though, Esteban was much faster and was hell bent on slaughtering this helpless individual. As Esteban reached striking distance, he let out an insane cackle, and slammed his machete against the back of the grunt's legs, easily tearing into all the soft flesh and tendons.

"OH MY GOD!" the grunt cried in horrifying pain as he fell to the floor. Esteban continued to cackle manically as he lifted the grunt by his hair and placed the serrated edge at the grunt's neck.

"P-Please don't, I'll give you anything you want!" the grunt pleaded with tears swelling into his eyes. "I want you to leak from your neck, can you give me that?" Esteban giggled insanely. This made the grunt start to cry, in turn making Esteban giggle more until the giggle eventually became an insane hyena cackle "how about a little off the top ese HAHAHAHAHA!"

_BAM_

Before Esteban could have his wicked fun, the grunts head exploded into a mess of gooey red matter. Esteban stared in shock for a second, and then looked up. Before him was Miklo standing above, pointing his M4 at the now non existent head of the grunt. Esteban stood up and sheathed his machete "w-why'd you do that for!?"

Miklo stared at Esteban with a disgusted face and finally spoke up "you're sick you know that."

"Oh I was doing them a favor" Esteban replied as he snatched his M4 out of Miklo's hand "they were going to die someday anyways. Now instead of waiting in fear without knowing when it will come, they don't have to worry about it anymore hehehe, they should thank me!"

"Let's just keep going okay" Miklo muttered, as he waved for the troopers to follow him. "Sounds good to me" Esteban nodded as he wiped the grunts blood off his face, and started to trudge uphill.

**5 Minutes Later...**

After truding uphill a while longer, the HFHSS squad finally found themselves at the peak. Exactly opposite of them stood Maxie and his machine. The machine had a long titanium hose that dipped all the way into the bowels of the volcano. Miklo laid down and supported his sniper rifle with a bipod. He looked into the scope and saw a magnified picture of Maxie. He appeared to have his lips moving and was pacing in circles, looking at the ground.

"Hmmm, looks like ol' Maxie finally went off the deep end, because he's just pacing around talking to himself" Miklo muttered.

"That's really fucking interesting, but can you just take the damn shot already. It's hot as hell up here" Esteban complained as he pulled at the collar of his bloody shirt.

"You should soak up some more heat and get ready for hell, cause that my friend is we you are most definitely heading" Miklo chuckled as he placed the scope over the machine

...

...

...

**_BAM_**

"God damn this thing has a nasty kickback."

* * *

**Present Time, back to Maxie and May...**

"GOD DAMNIT!" Maxie yelled as he kicked at the ground "THERE GOES MY FUCKING PLAN, ALL IN ONE FUCKING INSTANT!" Maxie continued to pout, but the rest of his rant became inaudible as a black helicopter with Team Magma's symbol flew overhead. A ladder dropped from the helicopter, and Maxie got on. "This isn't over, not by a long shot. God fucking damnit, I was so fucking close!..."

The chopper slowly began to ascend and move away from the mountain. It soon disappeared into the sky, and everything was quiet. Where there once was The cries of pain and battle, was replaced by a peaceful silence, disturbed only by May's soft breaths as she lay unconscious on the ground. It was almost unreal how something could transition from downright chaos to welcoming tranquility...

...

...

...

"May!"

...

...

...

"May where are you?"

...

...

...

"Oh no..."

* * *

**15 Minutes Earlier...**

The sweltering rays of the noon sun slammed into Brendan's face as he finally exited the tunnel (Fiery Path as it's called in the games). "Oh god!" Brendan panted as he wiped sweat from his forehead "my legs feel like lead, and my lungs feel like they got a fire inside them."

_**"Don't give up now, May needs you!"**_

"You're right!" Brendan said aloud as he wiped one last bead of sweat from his forehead "gotta keep going, for May...gotta keep going!" Soon Brendan reached the cable car station. He saw the imposter guards sprawled out across the ground. If he wasn't in a hurry, his kind helpful nature would have lead him to care for the unconscious men, but unfortunately for them he was in a hurry, he NEEDED to help May. He stepped over the bodies and headed inside.

Inside was a mess. Chairs and potted ferns were overturned as if there was a mad scramble to get to the cable cars. Brendan went farther in until he reached a room with a bunch of small little cable car pads that would allow people to enter said cable cars. Most of them were empty, but Brendan noticed there were a couple of cable cars still left. Brendan stepped into one and turned it on. The cable car sputtered to life and Brendan breathed a sigh of relief.

_"Finally I can get some rest"_

Brendan sat down and caught his breath. Once he relaxed, he felt the full strength of the fatigue you get from a long strenuous run. He pulled off his hat and started to fan himself "my god, I'm SOOOO tired _whew._" Brendan stretched his neck by shaking it from side to side. As he did this, he caught sight of something out of the window of the cable car. He looked out and saw the rest of the cable cars descending down the mountains.

_"Huh, cable cars descending down the mountain...I'm guessing that must be either Team Aqua or Team Magma...That means they didn't blow up Mt. Chimney! Oh what a relief"_ Brendan placed his hand over his heart and chuckled _"Oh my, that is a huge load off my chest, at least I know May's safe..."_

As Brendan's cable car passed the rest, he placed his hat back onto his head and started to massage his strained thighs. Soon his cable car came to a stop at the summit. Brendan stood up (with some difficulty) and exited the car. he was immediately blasted with a surge of hot air.

"God damn it's hotter than hell up here!" Brendan said as he felt another stream of sweat flow down from the pores on his forehead and pits. Brendan started to walk uphill, his eyes feverishly scanning for May. All he saw were random splotches and splatters of blood on the rocky ground, dried from the heat of the volcano. These were all tell-tale signs that something violent took place here. Brendan felt his stomach drop.

_"Maybe May isn't okay after all...I HAVE to find her."_

"May!" Brendan yelled, hoping his love-err I mean friend would answer "May please answer me!"

Nothing

_"Oh man this is not looking good..."_ Brendan thought to himself as horrifying images of the worst case scenarios entered his head. _"Oh god Brendan don't think like that, you got to stay positive!"_

"May!" Brendan shouted with a shaky voice as his movements became faster and more frantic "May please answer me!"

Nothing

_"I hope she's at the top, please god tell me she's at the top..."_

"May!" Brendan shouted as he felt the air become hotter, he knew he was nearing the peak.

"May where are you?"

As he said this, he finally reached the peak. His eyes went toward the ground.

"Oh no..."

Sprawled on the ground near a pile of metal fragments was May. From where Brendan was standing, it seemed as if there was no movement coming from here. His heart literally almost stopped

_"Oh god no, it can't be..."_

"M-May!" Brendan yelled as he ran up to May "MAY ANSWER ME!"

He reached May's body and quickly kneeled down. He saw her chest move up and down softly. Once Brendan saw this, he felt lighter, and he couldn't help but let a relieved laugh escape his mouth.

_"Oh thank heavens, she's alive!"_

Brendan brushed May's bangs off her forehead, and rubbed her cheeks lightly with his index finger. It was caked with sweat, dirt, and dry blood, but it was still oh so soft. He looked over to her left arm and saw a massive purplish bruise. It appeared she had gotten into some kind of skirmish...well maybe more than one, because Brendan noticed a small splotch of blood on the hair at the back of her head. He lightly turned her head and moved her hair to look at the skin on her head. There was a somewhat large gash with dry blood surrounding it. It had already closed, so there was no need to put pressure on it or anything.

"Oh May what did you get yourself into?" Brendan said as he lifted May's head with his hand to look upon her face "you should've just stayed with me, why do you have to be so damn stubborn!?"

There was no answer, he didn't expect one. All that he heard was her soft breaths escaping from her soft pink lips. Brendan stroked her head gently once more "let's get you off this damn rock."

Before Brendan picked up May, he strode over a small blast mark with Prof. Cozmo's meteorite lying in the center.

_"I guess she was able to stop Team Magma, good for you May..."_

Brendan grabbed the meteorite and stuck it into his backpack. He then walked back over to May. He pulled out his pokenav from his backpack, switched it on, and began to study it. "Seems like the only way off this volcano are the cable cars...and something called the Jagged Path...Hey, it leads straight to Lavaridge!" he proclaimed, turning his head toward May "you hear that, we're going to Lavaridge just like you wanted!" May's soft breaths were once again her only reply. Brendan placed his pokenav back into his backpack and placed May's arm around his neck. He placed his arms under her upper back and legs, and lifted her up. "Alright May, we'll be in Lavaridge soon" he grunted as he struggled with his fatigued body to keep her in his arms. Luckily for him, May was a petite little thing. Her small five foot four frame did not weigh a lot, especially to someone big and muscular like Brendan. It took some getting use to, but Brendan was able to start moving his fatigued legs down the mountain.

* * *

Soon after walking down Mt. Chimney for some time, Brendan noticed a narrow dirt path that lead to a small forested area. "That must be the jagged path" Brendan muttered as he moved May a little higher up against his chest to reinforce his grip _"almost there..."_

Almost there...that's what Brendan thought, but the Jagged Path was not a walk through the park. It was called the Jagged Path for a reason, and it wasn't because the narrow dirt path was jagged, it was because the whole area was a rugged and rocky downward slope that was for some reason surrounded by trees and grass (Weird right. Seriously I have no reason why it's like that, I'm just the narrator. I didn't make this world, I just tell you all what I see).

So now that you know this, you can tell how poor Brendan's experience was going down this god forsaken little trail. A lot of scratches, bruises, and sore legs. Good thing for Brendan, the trail was not long and he soon reached the end of the trail. He walked past the last stretch of trees and soon found himself in a small little laid back town nestled on top of and against the hills they had seen while walking on Route 112. The town contained small residential homes, a general store, an herbal store, a poke mart, a pokemon gym, and a pokemon center that seemed to be connected to a small area spotted what seemed to be hot springs (Brendan assumed this because steam escaped from the bodies of water). Brendan also noticed that the population residing in Lavaridge were mostly eldery people which lead Brendan to assume that Lavaridge functioned a lot like a retirement village.

"So this is Lavaridge huh" Brendan muttered as he looked toward May "let's get you to the pokemon center."

Brendan walked over toward the pokemon center, trying his best to avoid all the curious stares from the residents that caught sight of him holding May. He soon reached the center and walked past the door.

"Hello young sir how can I-Oh my, what's wrong with her?" Nurse Joy asked from behind the counter. "I think she fainted, can she have a room to rest for awhile?" Brendan asked.

"Certainly" Nurse Joy said as she grabbed a key from under the counter and walked toward the guest rooms, with Brendan following close behind. Nurse Joy walked up to a door and opened it up with the key in her hand. Brendan walked inside, and laid May gently onto the bed "there there, you're safe in bed now..."

"Poor thing, she looks beat up. It's a good thing she has such a caring boyfriend" Nurse Joy said with a cheerful smile.

"Wait, I-I'm not-"

"Let me go get some water for your girlfriend" Nurse Joy interrupted "you just stay here and keep here company okay." And with that, Nurse Joy left the room to go get water for May when she woke up.

"Girlfriend huh" Brendan said awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck and looked at May. She was still unconscious and unaware of anything going on around her. All that came out of here were her soft breaths. Brendan grabbed a chair that sat near the desk in the room, and scooted it closer to the bed. He sat down and looked at his battered friend and sighed. He sat there keeping an eye on here as she slept, until Nurse Joy stepped back into the room with a bottle of water, and a long white medical bandage strip "I noticed she had a real nasty bruise on her arm" Nurse Joy muttered as she placed the water bottle on the dresser, and began to wrap the white bandage around the bruise on May's upper arm.

"There, she's all wrapped up" Nurse Joy said as she looked at her work with a big self-satisfied smile "well I'll leave you two alone, I hope she feels better."

"Me too" Brendan replied "oh before you go, she has a couple of cuts. Is there a First-Aid kit around here or some alcohol or peroxide or something..."

"Oh yes we do, there's a First-Aid kit under the sink in the bathroom of every room here. Take care now" and with that, Nurse Joy went back behind the counter in the lounge of the pokemon center. Once the door closed, Brendan went into the bathroom and looked under the sink. Just like Nurse Joy said, there was a First-Aid kit. Brendan walked back to the bed and sat down on his chair. He opened the kit and pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and a small baggy of cotton balls. He opened the bottle and pulled out a few cotton balls. He lightly soaked the cotton balls with the peroxide, and proceeded to clean May's cuts. First was the gash on the back of May's head. He lifted her head up and lightly dabbed the wound, and cleaned up the surrounding dry blood. He then cleaned the various small scrapes on her arms and legs, lightly dabbing each one with the care of a loving friend.

"Well that likes like all of-oh wait, you still have one more" Brendan said as he looked at May's last cut "...and it's near you're uh...ummm...b-boobs..."

The cut in question was situated just little under her neckline, near her breasts. Brendan began to debate whether he should tread in that forbidden land and clean her wound, or to leave it alone and keep his hands away from anywhere near May's funbags.

_"Aww man, it HAD to be there...maybe I should leave it alone, it isn't that big after all...**But she is our friend, and when she's hurt it is our duty to help her out the best we**_** can...**_even if it means letting our hands go near there?_ _**Especially if it means letting our hands go near there, friendship is stronger than that!** I guess you're right...**Besides, they are pretty nice aren't they!** Whoa Whoa, you tone it down brain, this isn't time for that. **Oh alright, but you should clean it up. **Okay, I will...whew deep breath...here I go..."_

Brendan slowly moved his hand near the cut, and proceeded to gently dab it with a cotton ball soaked in peroxide. He kept his eyes away from May for the majority of the time he cleaned the cut, occasionally bringing his eyes to May for a quick second just to see if he was still on the wound. After a few more dabs, Brendan finished.

"_Whew_...that was tense, wasn't it" Brendan chuckled awkwardly as he gathered all the used cotton balls and went into the bathroom to throw them into the wastebasket. Brendan then came back into the room and sat back down near the bed. "Well May, you're finally in Lavaridge, Just like you wanted..." Brendan scooted closer to the bed and sighed "In fact, you seemed hell bent on coming over here, until you heard about Team Magma's plans, then you were hell bent going to the top of that damn volcano...So desperate to reach get to those two places. But I remember what you said in Fallarbor, that you NEEDED to do all that, that you NEEDED to put yourself in danger. I get the feeling that whatever is tearing you up inside goes more than redemption or gym badges, y-you're suppressing something and I know it. Y-You're wearing yourself out over something that you won't talk to me about, a-and I'm afraid it's only going to get worse. I know you're a tough girl, but some things you can't do alone. You need...help. I just hope you realize that soon before whatever has set shop in that mind of yours takes control, because it really pains me to see you like this...but for now, get some rest..."

After his speech, Brendan took a deep breath, laid back on the chair, and put his arms around his head.

_Sniff_

"Oh my, all that running has got me stinking, I need a shower." Brendan stood up and walked over to the bathroom and closed the door.

* * *

**_..._**

**_..._**

**_..._**

**_"You failed again..."_**

_May opened her eyes and found herself at the peak of Mt. Chimney...alone._

_The sky was blood red, and she couldn't see anything downhill, for it was all pitch black. In fact, everything seemed surreal and vibrant with an eerie suppressed anger. The rocky ground seemed to throb in the manner of someone trying to contain there rage by regulating their breaths._

_She stood up and dusted herself off, her nerves forced to their most heightened levels of perception in this nightmarish setting._

**_"You failed again..."_**

_May gasped and spun around in the direction of the voice._

_"Who was that?"_

**_"Someone who knows you very well..."_**

_"You don't know me!" May yelled as she spun around hoping to catch a glimpse of who was talking to her "you don't know me!"_

**_"Oh but I do..."_**

_May continued to spin in circles looking for the source of the voice "what do you want?"_

**_"You know what I want, you just don't want to accept it..."_**

_"I can honestly say I have absolutely NO FUCKING IDEA what you want!" May yelled "why can't you just leave me alone?!"_

**_"Because you keep failing...you don't want to accept the truth...you won't let go...So you must be tortured, you NEED it, you WANT it..._**

_"N-No!" May yelled "I don't want to be tortured, I just want you to stop tormenting me, I've done nothing wrong!"_

**_"You let innocent people die..."_**

_May stood silent "w-what?"_

**_"You're hearing me aren't you. Where were you before?"_**

_May's eyes grew wide once she realized where she was before she had woken up to this nightmarish reality "I-I was here on the peak, confronting Maxie..."_

**_"AND..."_**

_"And he sent out that M-M-M-Might-Mightyena, and I f-f-fainted...I never destroyed the machine..."_

**_"You never destroyed the machine...what does that mean?"_**

_"Mt. Chimney erupted...the people are dead, they're all dead...because of me..." May fell to her knees "b-because of me..."_

**_"That's right, because of YOU and YOUR cowardice. Those people are all dead like your friend, just because you won't except the truth!"_**

_May closed her eyes and gritted her teeth tightly as if the words had force, and she needed to brace for them._

**_"Because of your damn inability to bottle things, to except things, you have caused the death of many innocents.!Because of your cowardice, you let them all die!"_**

_"No...No..."_

**_"What will it take for you to wake up?! Maybe you need your pokemon to die next, maybe then you'll wake up!"_**

_"I'm sorry!"_

**_"No...you're not sorry...you won't learn until they're dead, you won't learn until YOU'RE dead..."_**

_"S-Stop, please stop!" May cried as she wept into her hands "I-I don't know what's wrong, y-you need to tell me! P-Please tell me, I'm begging you!"_

**_"Like I said before, you know...but you don't want to know..."_**

**_..._**

**_..._**

**_..._**

* * *

May woke up panting and sweating, with no recollection over her dream. She looked at her body, and saw that she was snuggled under a blanket. Above her a ceiling fan spun ever so slowly. She moved her head around to observe her surroundings. She breathed a sigh of relief saw the sleeping form of Brendan sitting down next to her. His hair was wet, and smelled very good, like strawberries. She figured he had just showered.

"B-Brendan" May said softly trying to get his attention. She tried to get up, but a sharp pain in her arms, legs, and head caused her to yelp in pain and lay back down. This yelp however, was enough to get Brendan to slowly waken. He let out a loud yawn and opened his eyes.

"Brendan."

As soon as he heard May's soft voice, Brendan immediately became fully alert and looked down at May.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed as he got off the chair and kneeled down beside her "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Brendan" May said with a smile "you're here, w-were are we?"

"Were inside Lavaridge Town's pokemon center" Brendan replied.

"H-How did we get over here?" she asked "I can't remember how we got here..."

"I carried you over here after I found you passed out at the top of Mt. Chimney."

When Brendan said Mt. Chimney, May's smile went away. She remembered her dream, which in turn made her remember what happened up on Mt. Chimney before she fainted. "M-Mt. Chimney...Oh no, oh god no..."

"May what's wrong?" Brendan said with concern in his voice. "They're dead, they're all dead!" May said with tears swelling into her eyes "I-I couldn't stop Team Magma, the machine, I-I fainted, a-and they're all dead because of me!" May continued to sob.

"May please don't cry. Nobody died, and Mt. Chimney didn't blow up" Brendan said with a reassuring voice as he sat on the bed and comforted her by rubbing his hand on her back "you did it didn't you, right before you fainted?"

"It didn't?" May said confused as she continued to sob "I remember Maxie releasing his Mightyena, and I couldn't move anything, not a_ single_ damn muscle! I just fainted, I fainted and let the innocent die!"

"But nobody died, that machine you were talking about was destroyed. Hell, I have the meteorite right here" Brendan said as he pulled out the meteorite from his backpack and showed it to May.

"Even if Mt. Chimney didn't blow up, I fainted. Thank god somebody destroyed that damn machine, but what if they didn't? Then that volcano would've blown up, and it would've been all my fault! People would've died just because I'm a fucking coward!"

"May your not a coward, you did your best" Brendan said warmly as May leaned against his chest, cowering like a small child. This disturbed him slightly. He had never seen this side of May, he was accustomed to the brave independent May, not this vulnerable and delicate May. Even when she first showed signs of immense discomfort, she never cowered or sought comfort from him. But this new May that he had not ever seen before made no difference to him. As her friend, his instinct was the same, to comfort her in her darkest moment. This was most definitely her darkest moment.

"I am a coward Brendan" May said as she buried herself in his torso "this isn't the first time someone has died because...because I let fear overwhelm me."

"R-Really?" Brendan asked. As he said this, he remembered May saying that she let her friend die right before she drove off to Mt. Chimney. He had initially thought she was just rambling nonsense in her weakened state of mind, but now hearing the sincere pain and self-loathing in her voice, he knew what she said was not the random mumbling of a broken mind. Her words were genuine. As his realization sunk in, May took the opportunity to snuggle closer to Brendan. His company and warm disposition helped put her at ease. Her sobs slowly ceased into random sniffles. The two were silent for a moment. Then Brendan spoke up.

"That's what's been troubling you hasn't it."

May nodded.

"May, I really think you should talk to me about this. You need to get this off your chest somehow, and you can't do it alone."

May stood silent for a moment. While she did feel safe in his arms, she still firmly believed that talking this out would not help her. However, maybe Brendan was partly right, maybe talking about this would help ease her stress a little. Besides, this was perhaps the only time she was going to be able to bring herself to talk about her past. She felt so secure in his arms...

"Alright, I'll tell you..."

* * *

**_'Flashback'_**

**_One year ago..._**

_The beautiful Johto sun shined high in the sky, bathing its rays onto the urban maze that was South Goldenrod. Citizens of this poverty stricken sprawl went about their day, whether it be legal wage-slave labor, or not so legal be-careful-not-to-get-your-ass-shot hustling. Amongst the many denizens walked a young fourteen year old May, wearing a red flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, ragged blue jeans, and black work shoes. In her hand was a drum of primer, and some two paint brushes. May was walking toward a bus station so she could get to her destination: a Home Depot. _

_Why such an odd destination for a pre-teen you ask? Well May was going to Home Depot so she could get hired to help put primer or paint on someone's house. Why would May spend her time waiting at a Home Depot to go put primer on some stranger's house you ask? Well it's because it was the only job May could see herself dong at the time. In her mind, most teen jobs were something boring where she had to stay behind a desk indoors all day, taking directions from some bossy older employee who had failed so much in life that the torment of a young inexperienced worker was the only joy that got in their existence._

_You see, May didn't like staying indoors behind a desk. She liked to use her hands and frolic outside in the sun. Sure, waiting at a Home Depot for someone to hire you wasn't the most stable job (or lucrative) job option, it did allow her to use her hands and stay outdoors. Although sometimes she would get a tad embarrassed when cruel individuals with a stable fiscal income (and for some reason La Cucaracha horns on their cars) would come and honk, just to yell insulting and degrading remarks, the positives outweighed the negatives. _

_But soon, May wouldn't have to work anymore (well I don't mean not work EVER again). The reason for this was she had almost accumulated enough money to purchase what had caused her to start working in the first place..._

_A pokemon._

_You see, May had always wanted to be a trainer. Becoming a trainer meant finally getting away from South Goldenrod, and going on an adventure, seeing new places, meeting new people, LIVING. The problem was that in Johto, starter pokemon were reserved for those that could pay. May's parents could not pay. Being the determined person she is, May made it her mission to find a way to get her pokemon. Her only option was to work so that SHE would have enough money to pay. Now after months and months of diligent and responsible work, May almost had enough to buy her very own little Totodile (which she thought were one of the most absolutely cutest pokemon on earth)._

_With the thought of soon getting her very own pokemon in mind, May walked down the beaten streets with a smile and not a care in the world. As she went on her way, she waved to those that waved at her. Adults who were familiar with the hard-working young girl, and even the gang members that lived on her street and saw her as one of their own (even though May was not in a gang)._

_She continued to walk, almost near the bus station when suddenly she heard a familiar engine, and the tell-tale blaring of the Steve Miller Band on the radio._

_It was her best friend Nick._

_May turned around and looked toward the street. Sure enough, her eyes caught sight of a tan beaten up 82 Camry. The car rolled next to her, and the car window rolled down._

_"Que pasa calabaza?" Nick said with a friendly grin that immediately put a smile on her face._

_"Nada Nada Limonada" May replied jokingly, causing her older friend to chuckle "just kidding, I'm just heading to Home Depot to get some work you know."_

_"Oh that's right I remember" Nick said as he stroked his rough beard "you're making some fedia to buy yourself a Totodile."_

_"That's right, and I almost have enough too!" May said enthusiastically "soon I'll have my Totodile, and we'll travel all across Johto, seeing new people, visiting new towns, getting gym badges..."_

_"Sounds chingon" Nick said with a smile "I'll bet you'll even be able to make it to the League!"_

_"I hope so!" May replied._

_Nick nodded with a sly smile. May knew this smile all too well. It was the smile he gave whenever he had good news for her. "Spill it out Nick, what's going on?"_

_Nick chuckled and finally spoke up "I think instead of saving that money for a Totodile, you should use it to buy some supplies for your journey."_

_When Nick said that, May felt her heart burst with excitement. "Nick, what did you do?!"_

_"Well" he started "if you must now, me and some of the homies found a dru-uhh abandoned house that had had a litter of little baby Houndours. I was thinking if you wanted to, you could get your pokemon today, and start your journey much sooner...unless you really want a Totodile..."_

_May's eyes beamed. A pokemon now! It sounded to good to be true. "You really mean it?!"_

_"Sure do Chiquita! Come on, I'll take you over to pick one up right now!" _

_May was ecstatic. She swiftly walked over to the passenger side of the car and hoped in. Once she was in with her seatbelt, Nick rolled down the street to his friend's house._

_"So May, how do you feel about getting your pokemon today?" Nick asked, but in truth, he already knew. He could tell by her inability to stay still in her seat._

_"Oh man, I'm so excited!" May proclaimed with the happiness of a child "I can't believe you're doing this for me!"_

_"Well I know you've been working hard, and your parents are busy with the bills" Nick said as he kept his eyes on the road "and a day ago, one of my friends told me that one of his stepbrothers had a litter of baby Houndours in his house. I first went there to check them out, but when I got there, I found out they were neglecting the poor things. They had them all bunched in a laundry room with a small cup of water that wasn't even full."_

_"Oh those poor things" My said as she placed her hand over her lips._

_"Yeah I know" Nick replied "so what I did is just took em. Just went up and told them I was taking them because they weren't taking care of them. No one tried to stop me, and if they did...well they would've ended up with a busted lip."_

_"So they're at your house?" May asked. Nick nodded "yup, I'm going to give them away to good homes, but then I remembered you and how much you wanted your own pokemon. So I figured before I gave them away, I'd give you your pick of the litter."_

_"Thanks Nick!" May said with a smile._

_"Hey it's no problem" Nick replied as a mischievous smile formed across his face "maybe I can finally get some peace and quiet when you're on your little journey."_

_"Oh ha ha" May mock-laughed as Nick chuckled at his own joke. After a few more minutes driving, they reached Nick's house. Nick parked the car and stepped out, May did the same. The two walked up to the front door. Nick pulled out his keys and opened it. May walked inside first, and was immediately hit with pungent smell of Nick's favorite recreational activity._

_"God damn Nick, does it ever not smell like weed in this place?" May asked as she waved her hand near her nose. "Hey, you're not suppose to know what that smells like" Nick scolded "you're only fourteen."_

_"You know I have-"_

_"I don't want to hear it" Nick interrupted "I know you probably have done it, and there's nothing really wrong with it, I just don't want to KNOW you do it."_

_May thought this was pretty understandable "alright. So where are the Houdours?"_

_"Outside" Nick replied, and a giddy May swiftly made her way through Nick's messy house to the back door. She flung it open and stepped outside. Straight ahead of here were a litter of five little Houndour pups confined inside a circular makeshit screen fence. _

_"Oh my god, they're so cute!" May squealed with delight as soon as she saw the cute pups. She ran over to the fence to get a better look at the baby pokemon. They were small canine-like pokemon with black fur and two white bands on each little back. They're underbellies and snouts had reddish fur. Soom of the little pups were still so young that they had their eyes shut. They all made cute little yelps when they saw May hovering over them._

_"Cute aren't they" Nick chuckled from behind. May spun around too face her friend "they sure are, oh I don't know which one to pick!"_

_"Take your time, there's no rush" Nick replied, just as a faint whimper was heard behind him. may looked beyond Nick, and so a somewhat large cage with wooden sides propped up on the side of the house. She could see movement in it, but she couldn't make out what was actually inside the cage._

_"What's in there?" May asked. Nick turned around to see what May was referring to. "Oh that's Diablo the Houndoom" Nick answered as he turned back toward May "I found him in the same house that had the Houndours. He was chained up in the basement with no food or water. When he first saw me, he immediately started snarling and barring his fangs. I'm guessing maybe someone those people had known was using poor Diablo as a guard dog to protect a drug house or something."_

_"Poor thing" May said sadly as she looked toward the cage._

_"Yeah, poor Diablo was neglected and beaten to the point where he is just a bundle of aggression and rage. I wouldn't have been able to take him if he didn't have a damn muzzle on him" Nick said with a sigh "I'm going to turn him over to a shelter soon. He's too feral for someone to adopt, and I can't keep him here..."_

_"Can I see him?" May asked. "Sure, if you want to risk getting barked at, I took his muzzle off so he would be more comfortable" Nick replied. Once again May turned toward the cage, then back at Nick, and finally slowly started to walk toward the cage. The closer she got, the more anxious she was. This Houdoom sounded absolutely frightening, but he hadn't made a sound. Was he saving his lung power for her? She would soon find out. She reached the front of the cage and looked inside. _

_Before her was a large pokemon sprawled out on the floor of the cage. He had black fur on his body, and reddish fur on his snout and underbelly like the baby Houndours. Unlike the Houndours, he had three white bands on his back, horns on his head, and a long black devil's tail. May could make out scars along his side, evidence of whippings. As May observed the large pokemon, Diablo lifted his snout into the air. He sniffed, and then turned toward May._

_At first May was a little uneasy, and was afraid Diablo would pounce at the bars and try to bite her. Much to her surprise, he did not. He just looked at May with sad droopy eyes, eyes that said he just wanted to be loved. May leaned closer and smiled "hi there Diablo."_

_Diablo didn't respond. He continued to look at her with sad eyes, then lifted his head back down. May sighed, this pokemon certainly did not seem aggressive at all. He just needed a friend._

_"Hey May" Nick said, getting May's attention "my phone's ringing, I'll be right back okay."_

_May nodded "okay.'_

_Nick went into the house, and may went back to staring at Diablo. A thought suddenly popped into May's head. Maybe, just maybe all this pokemon needed was for someone to show him that they weren't scared of him, and that they wanted to be friends. _

_"All you need it love don't you" May said softly to the sad looking Houndoom. After some silence, May decided to help this pokemon, to become this pokemon's friend. It was his only hope to survive, because if he went to the shelter...it was likely he would be put down. She had to befriend him now._

_May moved her hand toward the latch on the cage door, and slowly opened it._

**_Click_**

_Suddenly, the seemingly sad and docile Diablo sprung into action. He pounced at the cage door, breaking it clear off the latches. May gasped and jumped out of Diablo's way. This was not what she expected. _

**_"Oh god, what have I done?"_**

_Diablo still had the cage door in his mouth. He shook it vigorously, and finally flung it into the air as it were nothing. He brought his rage filled blood-shot eyes at May. His muscles bulged as he started his charge toward May._

_May could only look in horror as this large pokemon bounded toward her with intent to kill. She was unable to move, she was frozen in place._

**_"This is it, I'm going to die...Oh god I'm going to die!"_**

_May closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists, bracing for Diablo's sharp canines to pierce her flesh._

**_THUD_**

_May gasped when she heard the **THUD**, expecting horrifyingly intense pain to follow it, but it did not. May opened her eyes and saw Nick rolling around the floor with Diablo, trying to keep the bundle of rage away from May._

_"Get away May!" Nick yelled as he wrapped his arm around Diablo's belly to try and keep him at bay. May tried, but could not move. She was paralyzed and in disbelief. She had just come to get her first pokemon. Now her best friend was fighting with a large Houndoom to save her life._

_Diablo arched his muscular neck, and clamped down onto Nick's hand, piercing and breaking the bones in his hand with his sharp canines._

_"OH MY GOD!" Nick cried as Diablo used the Nick's loosened grip to pin the young man down and continue to mangle his hand. _

_May could only look on in horror as Diablo began to shake his head, twisting Nick's hand in awkward positions, eventually tearing the flesh and tendons, causing large amounts of blood to splatter onto the ground. May refused to believe her eyes. She told herself that the blood did not come from her friend, and that this wasn't really happening. She wanted to close her eyes and wait for this horrible dream to end. _

_It didn't._

_This wasn't a dream, Diablo was killing Nick._

_"Get off me you god damn mutt!" Nick yelled as he started to pound Diablo's torso with his non-mangled hand. Despite the powerful punches delivered by the boxer, Diablo did not loosen his grip. Diablo continued to shake Nick's hand, further mangling his hand until it become so disfigured that it couldn't really be described as a hand anymore._

_Nick turned toward May and yelled "look away May, look away!" _

_Right after he said this, Nick reached into his pocket and whipped out his butterfly knife. He raised it up, and struck it into Diablo's neck repeatedly. Diablo yelped as the last breath of air escaped his lungs. He let go of Nick's hand, and collapsed next to him with blood streaming out of the lacerations on his neck._

_May was literally paralyzed by the scene of violence that had just unfolded before her. There was no way this was real, this HAD to be a hallucination or something, it COULDN'T be real. Yet Nick's irregular and pained breaths told May otherwise. After finally processing everything that happened, May regained her nerves and ran toward Nick's body._

_"Oh my god Nick, y-y-you're h-"_

_"Don't look at it May" Nick said, trying to keep his young friends eyes away from his grisly wound. But May could not keep her eyes off the mangled hand, it was unreal. She needed to look at it because she could still not fully accept that this was real._

_"May look at me okay, d-don't look at my hand" Nick stammered as his body began to twitch. May nodded as tears dropped onto the ground. She tore her eyes away from the hand, and looked into Nick's hazel eyes, as she saw them slowly started to lose their life. As she trembled, Nick reached into his pocket with his good hand and reached into his pocket._

_May stopped him "d-d-don't move, y-you're not going to die okay, you CAN'T die!" she said with a trembling voice, as she struggled to stand up with her shaky legs "I'm going to go get help, you're going to LIVE you hear me!"_

_Nick grabbed her arm and stopped her from getting up "no I'm not, p-please just sit with me."_

_May didn't want to except her friends words, but deep down she knew he was right. She sat down next to him, heeding to his will. "Y-You can't die..."_

_Nick raised his hands to wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask of tequila. By now, Nick had lost a large amount of blood. He was near death, and was not able to do or say much. He handed May the flask and looked her in the eyes._

_"Pour a little for me, and move on..."_

* * *

"The police and ambulance showed up promptly 45 minutes later" May said with a hint of resentment.

"..."

Brendan had his mouth open, but could not say anything. He was at a lose for words. All he could do was hold May. He had no idea that she had gone through that.

"My friend died in my arms because I didn't act" May continued as tears slowly started to stream down her cheek again "There has to be a reason why I didn't act. I can't accept that he died for nothing, there HAS to be a reason for it" more stream fell from her eyes "Right after the incident, I became extremely afraid of pokemon. Every time I saw one, the image of Nick's mangled hand would pop into my mind. Ever since then, I've never been truly happy..."

May retreated deeper into May's chest, and held him tighter "...that is until I moved here to Hoenn and met you and Torchic. When I met you both, you two woke up something in me. You woke up the happy little girl that I thought I lost right after the incident. Both of your friendships made me feel genuinely happy again" May closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek up against his chest "Then you and I started our journeys, and my happiness grew. With my pokemon and you traveling with me, I thought that my fear had finally gone away...but of course things aren't that simple are they. You can't just let go of something, you carry it with you for the rest of your life...I learned that when I battled Wattson and his Manectric in Mauville. That god damn dog reminded me of Diablo. I-I was barely able to beat him, I'm lucky Little Vato is such a tough pokemon because I gave him virtually no help."

"May..." Brendan said sadly, unable to say anything else.

"I gave him no help, just like I gave Nick no help...Then I began to have the dreams. They torment me, reminding me of my failures...that's why I haven't been able to sleep, that's what's been tearing my mind apart..."

Brendan held May tighter, she welcomed his embrace with a slight smile "I started to think there was no hope for me, but when I heard that Mt. Chimney was going to erupt, I felt a ray of hope. That was suppose to be my redemption. Me stopping Mt. Chimney from blowing up would be the reason for my friend's death, so I could learn not to falter in the face of fear when a life, or in this case _lives _were on the line..."

May went silent for a moment. Brendan thought she had fallen asleep, when she spoke up once more "I failed...It was suppose to free me, and I failed...I-It was suppose to be the reason why my friend died, but I failed...He died for nothing...I can't except that he died for nothing, yet everything is telling me otherwise!...Now I'm afraid that if I go on, someone else might die because of me...I'm afraid my pokemon might die because of me...maybe _you _will die because of me..."

"Don't talk like that May" Brendan said, finally catching his voice "it's not your fault, accidents happen. You just have to live with that."

"No" May said softly as she shook her head "my friend, he couldn't have died for no reason. Then that would mean...I don't even want to say it..."

"May it's not your fault, none of it is" Brendan said as he rubbed her head gently. "I wish I could agree with you" May replied "but I just can't, I can't bring myself to..."

The two were once again silent, embracing each other to help each other ease their stressed psyches after the emotional conversation.

"I'm tired" May mumbled, her face still pressed against Brendan's chest.

Brendan looked down at her "me too, I guess I should go get a room..."

When he tried to lift himself off the bed, May held on to him tighter, preventing him from getting up. "Wait Brendan" she said with a delicate voice "can you stay here with me tonight? I don't think I'll be able to sleep alone, and you make me feel safe."

Brendan looked down at her and said with a warm voice "of course, what are friends for." May smiled, and closed her eyes as Brendan stayed in his seated position while he wrapped his arms around May to make her feel secure. There they stayed, silent in the dark room. Brendan waited until he heard May's soft breaths that signaled she had fallen asleep. Then, he laid his head against the wall and fell asleep.

May had no nightmares that night.

* * *

**Morning...**

May's eyes fluttered opened, the ceiling fan blowing onto her face just like it did yesterday. May lifted herself upright into a seated position and found that she was alone. She looked onto the dresser near the bed. There was a note on it. May picked it up and read it.

_"I went back to Fallarbor to give the meteorite back to Prof. Cozmo. I'll be back soon._

_-You're friend Brendan"_

After reading the note, May remembered Brendan had spent the night with her so she could feel comfortable and finally get some rest. It had worked, she didn't have any nightmares. May couldn't help but smile (albeit it was a weak smile), even though she still was very distraught mentally. At least her fucked up mind had some rest, that would alleviate some stress.

May placed the note back down and got off the bed. "Oww" she muttered as she disturbed her sore and battered body with this action. She walked over toward the bathroom and closed the door so she could shower.

**30 Minutes Later...**

May stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her body and head. She walked over to the bed and removed the towels to put her trainer clothes back on. Once that was done, she clipped her fanny pack onto her waist, tied her pendant around her neck, and tied her bandanna onto her head. Once she was fully clothed, she ran her hands through her hair.

_"Okay, I got some sleep and took a nice long shower. I'm feeling refreshed and much better than I was before...sort of."_

May shook her head and walked out of her room. She entered the pokemon center's longue. She was greeted by Nurse Joy.

"Why hello honey, I'm glad to see you that you're feeling better!"

"I'm feeling somewhat better" May replied _"but not entirely, not by a longshot..."_

"Oh, well perhaps you should rest a little more" Nurse Joy suggested "maybe wait for your boyfriend to get back so he can take care of you."

"That won't be necessary" May replied "thank you for patching me up, it was very nice of you ma'am."

"Oh it was my pleasure honey!" Nurse Joy said with a smile "besides, that's what us Joys are programmed for!"

"And you all are certainly great at your job" May said warmly "certainly built to the finest standards."

"Thank you honey, you're just too much!"

May nodded and walked out of the pokemon center. The sunlight hit her eyes as she stepped out onto Lavaridge Town. Normally May would give the town the once over, but her mind was set on going to the gym and getting her next badge.

_"My last hope to get my mind of everything, the gyms."_

May started walking down the street toward the Lavaridge gym, which was easily recognizable amongst the small homes in this small town. May held onto her arm since it was throbbing, probably from an injury she got back on Mt. Chimney.

_"Mt. Chimney..._

_Where I failed to redeem myself, where I failed to give purpose to my friend's death..."_

May shook her head _"why did I fail? That event, it was tailor-made for me, yet I still failed...cause I'm a coward...**maybe, just maybe life isn't set in stone..**.no, that can't be true, my friend did not die for no reason, he had meaning damnit! I just need to beat this gym, go on to the next goal. Life will show me the way, it will save me when the time is right."_

May looked up and saw she was standing in front of the gym. Without a word, May opened the door and stepped inside. Unlike most gyms, the interior of this gym was _sweltering. _It reminded May of Mt. Chimney, and her failure. May shook her head to try and focus on the upcoming match.

"Hello" May called out loudly "I would like to challenge your gym please."

Right after May said this, a lone dim red light it up on the wall behind the the form of a person, creating a silhouette. By the curvy body shape of the figure, May could tell this was a female. The figure spoke.

"Puny trainer, how dare you-no wait, I am-wait that's not right...Oh I got it!" the figure stepped away from the back wall light, and into the light that flooded the center of the gym (the battlefield). Now that this person was in the light, May could see her in full detail. This person was a beautiful young lady, just a little older than May, probably 19 or 20. She had long magnificent red hair that was held up in a wild bun. The tight black shirt and jeans she wore accented her large breasts, tiny waist, and hourglass hips and made her curvy figure more of a pleasure to look at (for us guys of course...well maybe not just guys, I'm sure there are women out there that would appreciate her body).

"My name is Flannery, leader of the Lavaridge gym, or as you youngsters like to say, leader gym uh errr I mean gym leader hehe..." she scratched the back of her neck and cleared her throat "I have learned a lot from my grandfather who was a noble member of the Elite Four in his prime. His legacy..._which I get reminded of every single day..._lives on in me. All his experiences and know-how are what make me one of the most fearsome gym leaders in all of Hoenn!...even though I just started like two days ago..."

"Hello Flannery, my name's May. I'm here to challenge you to a gym battle" May said without much confidence.

"O-Oh, you do?" Flannery said nervously "well then o-okay, let's get this battle started then!"

"Any rules I ought to know about?" May asked politely. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Flannery said as she slapped her forehead with her palm "imagine a gym leader like me forgetting that hehe..." Flannery cleared her throat and composed herself "this gym takes 3 vs. 3 elimination matches. No healing or status restoring items are allowed, and I think that's all..." Flannery looked off unsure of herself. After some thought, Flannery smiled and seemed to be sure of herself that those were all the gym rules "yup, I think that's all of them, time to battle!"

"Fine by me" May said as she unclipped one of the pokeballs on her belt, and threw it into the air. Out of the ball came a red swirl of energy that composed into Little Vato, May's trusty Combusken. "Busken!" the young fowl chirped as he raked his claws together, sharpening them for battle. He then turned toward May to give his trainer a confident smile, but when he saw her face, his smile faded. He knew something was not right with her. This in turn made him anxious. If his trainer was not on the up and up, how would that affect his performance?

"Go Camerupt, show them what you can do!" Flannery shouted as she threw a pokeball into the air. Out of said pokeball came a red swirl of energy that composed itself into a large bovine-like pokemon with shaggy orange fur, hooves on each of his four legs, three blue rings on each side of him, and two volcano-like humps on his back.

"Camerupt!" the pokemon bellowed as he stomped his front hooves on the ground.

_"Pretty tough looking pokemon" _May thought to herself as she pulled out her pokedex.

_"Camerupt the eruption pokemon. A pokemon that lives in the crater of a volcano. Every ten years, the volcanoes on its back erupt violently. Research is under way on the cause of the eruption."_

"Alright Camerupt, use Flamethrower!" Flannery directed. Camerupt quickly opened his mouth and released an insanely hot stream of fire that headed straight toward Combusken.

"Dodge it Little Vato" May said, except she didn't say it like she usually did. She usually gave orders quickly and with confidence. The way she said it now was in a way that showed she was unsure of herself, and that her head was not fully in the battle. Because of that, Combusken did dodge the Flamethrower, but only partially. Combusken got his right foot seared as he jumped away.

"Bus!" Combusken yelped as he shook his foot around to dull the pain.

"Quick while he's shaking his foot, use Magnitude!" Flannery yelled. Camerupt nodded, and lifted his front legs in the air. Combusken and May looked on in awe as Camerupt kept his heft in the air for a considerable amount of time. Then without warning, he slammed his hooves onto the ground, creating a massive tremor that shook the walls of the gym and sent jagged cracks across the battlefield, kicking up fragments of rocks as they went.

"Busken!" Combusken cried as the super-effective attack flung him from side to side, all while the little rock fragments peppered his body, dealing even more damage. Even after the shaking stopped, Combusken's legs were still jittery, and he fell to the floor.

"Now use Stomp!" Flannery cried. Camerupt wasted no time. He charged toward Combusken, who was still trying his best to get back on his shaky feet. He was too late, Camerupt loomed over him and lifted a hoof over him.

_"Oh no!"_

**SLAM**

Camerupt began to repeatedly stomp on Combusken with his hoof. Combusken did his best to try and halt the attack and lessen the damage done to him by covering the area where Camerupt stomped with one claw, and raking Camerupt when he stomped down with the other. Despite this, Camerupt did not seemed fazed, and continued his relentless attack. Combusken looked toward May, desperate for direction.

May looked back at Combusken wide-eyed. The May from before would have seen this, and thought of a plan quickly to get Combusken out of this situation. Perhaps the May from previous chapters would have told Combusken to use Ember since Camerupt was in close proximity. Then after using the attack to cause Camerupt to hesitate, she would have instructed Combusken to use his legs to kick Camerupt's hoof away and roll away from the large bovine. Alas, that was not the May standing on the battlefield right now. This was the May that had undergone severe mental and emotional trauma brought on by the extreme pain that came with the resurgence of a deeply repressed past event. This May looked at Combusken and saw all the times she had failed. His pleading eyes, and her inability to speak just showed her she was failing again.

"S-STOP!" May yelled at the top of her lungs, with a desperate voice. This caused Flannery to jump and Camerupt to cease his attack. "Stop the fight, I-I give up..."

As soon as May said this, Combusken looked at her in disbelief "Bus-Busken?!" _"What do you mean you give up?!"_

"You give up?" Flannery said shocked "b-but..."

"I can't do this" May said as she grabbed Combusken's pokeball "I'm sorry for wasting your time Miss Flannery, but I-I just can't."

"Return Camerupt" Flannery said as she recalled her pokemon and walked up to May "what's the matter, d-did I do something wrong?"

"No you didn't do anything wrong" May reassured the young gym leader as she walked over to Combusken, who was still looking at her with disbelief "I just can't do this anymore."

"Bus-Busken-Bus!" _"You can't give up! Are you doing this because of me? Do you think I can't handle him? What's with you May!"_

"I'm sorry Little Vato" May said with a hint of self-loathing in her voice, she couldn't even look her pokemon in the eye "your trainer is a failure, I can't keep going...return."

"Bus-" Before Combusken could protest any further, May clicked the button on the pokeball, and Combusken was recalled back into its confines. May looked at the pokeball for a moment _"I'm sorry" _and clipped it back onto her belt. "Goodbye Flannery, thank you for giving me the opportunity to battle you anyways."

"Wait stop!" Flannery yelled as she blocked May's exit "come on, as a trainer you can't just give up. Look if you're not feeling up to the challenge right now, why don't you rest a bit-"

"I'm not a trainer anymore" May replied as she walked past Flannery and stepped out of the gym. The sun hit her face, nature's way of slapping her she supposed. She put her head down and started walking.

"Hold on!"

May turned around and saw Flannery running toward her "why are you doing this?"

"Because it's the only option" May replied "I-I don't see how I'm going to keep going..."

"What do you mean?!" Flannery yelled "so I had the upper hand in the beginning, so what! The tables could have easily turned, you could have-"

"It wasn't because of that Flannery" May said softly "look just understand I can't continue." May pulled out her gym badge case from her fanny pack and handed it to Flannery "here, I won't be needing this anymore. Do with it what you will..." and with that, May walked down the street, her face towards the ground, and her shoulders hunched in shame.

Flannery watched May for as long as she could, right up until May turned on the corner of the street, and disappeared from sight. Flannery was still shocked by the young trainer's sudden surrender, that she almost forgot that she still had May's badge case in her hand. She opened it and saw that the young trainer had acquired three badges: the Boulder Badge, The Knuckle Badge, and The Dynamo Badge. "Why?" Flannery muttered to no one in particular as she looked at the badges glistening in the sunlight "you were almost there, why would you give up?"

Flannery sighed and walked back to her gym.

* * *

"Would that be all young lady?"

"Yes sir, that would be all" May said glumly yet politely as the shopkeeper placed the money she had given him into a cash register. May grabbed her item, a jar of pokefood, and proceeded to walk out of the pokemart.

"Have a good day young madam!" the shopkeeper said happily. May turned around and nodded "you have a good day to sir" and exited the mart. In truth, this day was not good at all. In fact, it was one of the worst days she had ever had. It was evening out, and May was still in Lavaridge Town.

Earlier in the day, May had renounced her title as pokemon trainer. After witnessing her inability to direct her pokemon in battle had shown her that her dream had been telling the truth. She had finally succumbed to her fears and personal demons. They were right about her being a coward, she had demonstrated that many times before, but the battle she had a while ago finally broke her. She wasn't fit to be a trainer, or anything that involved honor or the safety of any living organism. If she kept going, she knew that it would end up with the death of one of her pokemon, one of her _friends..._just like Nick. Rather than have another death on her hands, May chose to end her selfish journey. There was nothing here for her in Hoenn or any other place. The luggage she carried with her would be with her _forever. _It was foolish to think she could just drop it and get on with her life, but at least she knew that now.

May found a nice clearing on the outskirts of town, and sat down. She looked towards the sky. The setting sun gave off a beautiful orange hue that bathed the mountains and trees surrounding here. What a perfect scene to end her doomed career as a trainer in.

May reached into her fanny pack, and pulled out her pokenav. She looked at Brendan's number, and then at her father's. She took a deep breath and placed her hand over the button. She closed her eyes and imagined what she would say to him.

_"Hi dad...How have you been? That's good, that's good...How have I been? Not good...Dad, I-I can't be a trainer anymore...I just can't dad, i-it's too hard...Look I know you don't want a quitter for a daughter, but I just can't move on...I'm coming home...I'm sorry I couldn't make you proud..."_

May's thumb hovered over the button to dial. Her hand began to tremble. She tried to press the button, but could not.

"F-Fuck!" she yelled as she threw her pokenav toward a tree in rage. The pokenav hit the trunk and broke apart, the pieces landing onto the ground. May placed her face into her palms and berated herself "stupid, stupid! What if someone tries to call you?"

May sighed and took her face away from her hands. She pulled out the pokefood she had just bought, and a bowl of food. She placed the bowl on the ground and poured the contents of the jar into the bowl. May placed the empty jar into her fanny pack, and slowly unclipped each one of her pokeballs. She placed them on the ground, and methodically began to release each one.

"Beaut!" _"Ahh it's good to be out of that damn ball, can finally stretch the wings..."_

"Skit Skit!" _"Well if it isn't my favorite female human, and my hot tempered fluttering companion. How are you both doing?"_

"Ron!" _"Is it time to battle?" 'looks around and realizes there are no enemies "oh I guess not...Hey look, food!"_

"Boach-Barboach!" _"Hey look, it's the brown skinned lady and...her friends? are y'all Miss brown skinned lady's friends? You are! Well pleased to meet y'all!"_

"...Bus...Busken-Bus..." _"...how could you?...You gave up?! I-I thought I would never hear those words come out of anyone's mouth, let alone your mouth!"_

All of May's pokemon looked toward her shocked.

"Skit?" _"you gave up?"_

"Aron? Ron-Aron" _"Are you sure? I don't think I can believe that..."_

"Busken" _"it's true, looks like our trainer is a no good quitter!"_

"Beaut, Beautifly!" _How dare you talk about May like that! Everyone, don't believe a word what this fucking cock says, he's out of his mind!"_

As May stared at her arguing pokemon, Barboach flopped over to here and spoke.

"Barboach?" _"Is it true Miss Brown skinned lady? Did you really give up?"_

Even though the pokemon spoke by saying their name, May knew exactly what he was saying. It was the only thing he could have possibly asked her at this time. May looked toward the ground "it's true" she said softly "I quit."

Hearing this, all the pokemon except Combusken went quiet.

"Bus-Busken!" _"See! I told you she quit! After all the faith we had in her, after all the times we did our BEST, our VERY BEST to get her closer to her goals, she fucking quits on us. Ain't that a bitch!"_

"Beaut..." _"I don't know what to say..."_

"Ar-Aron..." _"B-But if you quit, that means she doesn't..._

"Combusken, Bus-Busken!" _"It means she doesn't fully believe in us. She never saw us as friends, cause friends don't quit on one another!"_

Hearing the angry chirps of her Little Vato brought tears to her eyes "guys, you know I'm doing this because I love everyone of you right?" All of her pokemon looked away, unsure of their own trainer. All except Combusken who was glaring daggers at her. It was clear that he felt the most betrayed "come on guys, I lost my career, I-I can't lose my friends too..."

Nothing.

Tears streamed down May's eyes "please, guys?"

They had all turned their backs toward her. May could deal with physical and mental pain to an extent, but the loss of her pokemon's respect and companionship was the last straw. She was truly broken. May burst into tears, letting her sorrow leak out onto the ground. For a long while, the only sounds were May crying. Eventually, May's eyes ran dry and she could cry no more. She managed to look over towards her pokemon despite her aching heart, and speak with a quivering squeak "...Do you guys want to at least eat before we go back home, it's a long trip you know..."

No replies.

May looked down in defeat "...okay."

She pulled out the empty jar from her fanny pack, placed the food from the bowl back inside, and placed everything back into her fanny pack. She then reached for the empty pokeballs lying on the ground and proceeded to recall her pokemon. She placed them back onto her belt, each _clip _bringing a heaviness into her heart. Once they were all safe on her belt, May reached into her fanny pack and pulled out something to help weaken the pain...tequila.

She opened the bottle and began to chug. She removed the bottle from her lips, and started to feel a little dizzy, but not better. She stood up and began to walk aimlessly, taking a swig from her bottle every now and then. She continued to walk, the world becoming more and more contorted as the alcohol sped through her system. Soon all she could feel was the warm tingling sensation of the strong liquid on her throat.

"Damn...pokemon...turn their backs on me...I don't care...I can-"

Before May could finish, she began to tumble down the steep hill that prevented travelers from getting to Lavaridge from Route 112 without using the cable car. She tumbled down, hitting sharp rocks that cut her flesh as she went. After getting lacerated for quite some time, May eventually hit the bottom with a loud _THUD. _Luckily for her, the alcohol made her body loose, and dulled the pain.

"Oh man...feels like I fell of a cliff" she mumbled as she picked herself up and continued to stagger off into the night.

**10 Minutes Later...**

After staggering for quite some time down Route 112, she reached the fork in the road that led down Route 111 back to Mauville, to Route 112 (the route she had just walked through), or further up Route 111, to the Badlands infamous desert.

"Gotta go home...homes that way" May mumbled as she loosely pointed in the direction of south towards Mauville when she lost her balance and fell face first onto the ground.

"Ow..." she muttered as she picked herself up. "I can't stay in one place" she slurred as she swayed to and fro "gotta get moving...that way."

She pointed in the direction of the desert. Being drunk, and her fall had disoriented her sense of direction, so she thought she was heading toward Mauville.

"Off we go!" she drunkenly proclaimed as she staggered off into the heart of the Badlands. She kept walking, not noticing how cold it had gotten, for the night had come. Her drunkenness had numbed her nerves, so she did not feel the vigorous spray of sand that the winds blew onto her face and body. She just kept walking, but even then, drunkenness can only get you so far. Even though she did not feel the fatigue at all, her body did, and it demanded she stop. It literally put its foot down. May buckled from the fatigue, and landed face first onto sand. Her only companions now were the wind, sand, and crescent moon hovering up above her.

She was alone in the heart of the Badlands: The Central Hoenn Desert.


	24. My Town

**Guess what this chapter is going to be...A Brendan chapter! Yeah I know you all want to know what's in store for May after the previous chapter, but that's for a later chapter (specifically,next chapter). This chapter will contain a character named Sam who is an OC from fellow author Razzorow. He's been following this story since it was Pokémon: The Hoenn Story, so a shout out to him, and the rest of you who read and review. You all keep me motivated and I'm glad you've all taken a liking to my story.**

** My Town**

Mt. Pyre: a lone burial mound located on an island that rose from the center of an inlet near Route 122, just west of Lilycove. To get there, one would need the means to ferry them across the water, whether it be by boat or pokemon to reach the large graveyard. The area was shrouded in a mist, always was. Some said it was natural, others said it was paranormal and brought on by the spirits of the deceased pokemon that resided on Mt. Pyre. No matter how misty this area was, people found a way to get across to pay their respects, just like a certain man standing near the shoreline of Route 122, looking towards the South in the direction of the burial site, looking past the mist and seeing its silhouetted figure.

The man was huge, six feet four to be exact, and even though he was cloaked by a heavy black trench coat, you could tell the man was nothing but muscle. On his head was a black fedora that covered his shaved head, and a pair of tinted shades that contained his intense brown eyes. His black gloves held a bouquet of roses. The man sighed and walked closer to the shoreline, where a lone rowboat sat, his row boat. It's sides were coated with moss, and it's oars weathered from heavy use. The man pushed the rowboat out onto the water, and stepped inside, making the floor of the boat creak as his loafers made contact with them. He sat down, and placed the bouquet between his legs. There he sat for a moment in silence, troubling thoughts running through his head. He shook his head, and grabbed on oar with each hand, and started to row towards Mt. Pyre.

The oars propelled the boat forward, bringing the little boat closer to the graveyard, which became bigger and clearer with each stroke. Soon enough, he reached a small dock with a where a couple of other boats where tied, signaling to him others were around as well. He didn't mind, they had all lost someone they cared about. Over here in Mt. Pyre, they all were the same, each individual bound by grief.

He neared the dock, and stopped rowing when he was within distance to step off the boat and step onto the old ragged wooden pier. He then tied the boat to the pier, and made his way towards the entrance of Mt. Pyre, bouquet in hand.

Once inside, the man was greeted with the usual sights that hit his eyes whenever he came here. A large sign that read in art nouveau writing: _"Take solace in knowing that our fallen companions will journey to the land in the north to rest their weary eyes for all eternity."_

Beyond this sign was large candle lit room filled with rows and rows of tombstones, and the ever present mist. The man could hear unseen individuals weeping in the distance, their sorrow shrouded in the obscuring haze.

The man walked past the tombstones, and made his way towards a flight of cobblestone stairs that lead higher up Mt. Pyre, to another room filled with tombstones and most likely grief stricken individuals he could not see or hear. The man continued to walk, his legs were use to this routine visit and knew the path well, even in the darkness. The man once again went up another flight of stairs until he reached another grave room. He swiftly passed through this one and went up another fleet of steps that would lead him to the last grave room, his destination.

Like the other grave rooms, this one was large and filled with mist and had candles that flickered and made the tombstones cast shadows that danced along the walls, with the energy that the deceased lying underneath probably had when they were alive. For the man however, this room was much different than the others. He walked past many tombstones, making his way to the end of the center row where a small orb of light could be seen, like a beacon calling him. His pace remained the same despite his eagerness to reach the light. It didn't take long for him to finally reach it. Once there, he stopped and observed what laid before his eyes, like he always did.

In front of him was a large candle lit shrine with the statue of a regal Gardevoir standing on a pedestal in a dignified manner. The shrine read: _"You may have passed on, but your legacy remains in your loved one. Your sacrifice was his ultimate loss, but humanity's greatest chance at survival. Duality is the law of the Universe. There is only balance in chaos." _

The man knelt down and placed the bouquet of roses near the shrine, joined with other previous bouquets that were brought over by the man in days that have gone by. He took off his trench coat, hat, and shades, revealing his identity...Jonathan.

"Hello again Gardevoir" he said with actual warmth in his voice, something that was only reserved for his deceased companion "I'm so glad to speak with you again. I've been quite busy with the...planning and all, but that's no excuse for not visiting for four days straight. For that I'm sorry." Jonathan looked toward the ground in shame, clearly saddened for neglecting to visit her for those four days. Jonathan sighed and looked back up at the statue "I promise to visit more often, work could wait...So how have you been? Good I hope, only the best is what an angel like you deserves, _'sigh' _I don't know why god paired you with me..." Jonathan gritted his teeth "that son of a bitch just used you, and I'm powerless to do anything about it. I hate being forced to do his bidding. I don't like torturing and murdering because I know you would never approve of it, b-but I have no choice. God's will is the law, because the universe is god...your life and my life are already written in this world. I wish it wasn't so, but it is the way it is..."

Jonathan began to shift around uncomfortably "well that's why I came over here, I'm having doubts..." Jonathan sat down and began to leak all of his thoughts to his soul mate "Lately, there have been many complications in the plan. Miklo failing to protect the Aqua Grunt, the Abrams not coming in time, and that whole Magma thing. If this was god's will, wouldn't everything run smoothly? I thought he was testing me, but what is there to test? He has already broken me. Why complicate things?" Jonathan shook his head "I don't know what's going on anymore...Could I be wrong? Is god really forcing me to do this? If he's not, that means...NO! He has to be there. Y-You couldn't have died for no reason, and my childhood was taken from me for a reason. I-I have to do this, there has to be a reason for everything...right?" Jonathan looked toward the statue, not expecting an answer from it, but nevertheless still hoping for one.

After a moment of silence, Jonathan spoke again "No no, something as wonderful as you couldn't have died for no reason. You died to show me the truth. This world is riding to hell on a hand grenade manufactured by the banking cartels that run Hoenn and its allies. Society is a lie, man made laws are nothing but ill placed faith by individuals that believe they have free will, but we know better. There is only balance in duality, and there is only duality in the natural world, a world run by the only laws that matter, God's laws. Life and death is only regulated in a world without society and rules...I WLL bring that world back to we as humans and pokemon can survive and thrive once more. I WILL bring Anarchy back to this world, and that's the way it is...because it's god's will."

Jonathan stood up and looked at the statue with loving his eyes "Once my destiny is completed, I will die. Hopefully for doing his bidding, god will honor me with the greatest reward I could ever dream of...seeing you again. Then, then we'll be happy again, just like the old days..."

A lone tear fell from Jonathan's eyes as he turned around to walk away, looking back at the statue once more to utter one more sentence "...I'll see you soon."

* * *

**Back to Brendan...**

"Damn ash never stops falling" Brendan muttered to himself with some annoyance as he walked down Route 113. Talking to himself usually helped alleviate the boredom of not having someone around too talk to, but this time it was too take his mind off leaving May alone Lavaridge Town. If you asked him three days ago if he minded leaving May behind to carry on his work for his dad, he would say he didn't mind it at all. In fact, he welcomed it. He would tell you he needed time away from her because every time he was around her, certain feelings would stir in his stomach. Feelings that he didn't quite understand, but knew they shouldn't be directed at her. They were only friends after all.

But now, leaving her brought a pain into his stomach. He understood partly why. At this point in time, she was going through a very rough psychological battle with the demons of her past. He knew he couldn't do much to help but be there for her, but here he was on Route 113 miles away to give back some damn space rock to a guy with six fingers. It was reasonable to be a little bothered, and not want to think about his friends current situation, but no matter how hard he tried, his mind kept going to May.

"Oh May, I hope you can overcome" he said to himself silently "life must go on May, you can't keep living in the past..."

Brendan looked down at the meteorite he was holding. There was some ash on its surface. It reminded Brendan of when he found May unconscious on Mt. Chimney. So desperate to destroy the past, to cast it away, but it was to no avail. The past had overwhelmed her once again. He brushed the ash off the meteorite and continued to walk. The silence was tense. He knew some part of him was yelling at him for leaving, but he kept telling himself that he would be back soon. It was just a quick trip over to Fallarbor.

_"All I'm going to do is heal my pokemon and return the meteorite over to Prof. Cozmo. Then I'll head back to Lavaridge to be there for May."_

Brendan stopped and waited. He expected his mind to respond with some snarky remark that would lead him to a conversation that would give him advice in the situation he was in, or maybe tell him what he was doing was okay. There really was nothing wrong with what he was doing. He wasn't abandoning her, he was just doing what he needed to do.

He stood there waiting a little longer. His mind did not respond. He sighed.

_"I guess you're at a loss of words too huh."_

Brendan shook his head and continued on down the path

* * *

**5 Minutes Later...**

Brendan found himself standing once again in the small rustic town they called Fallarbor. He wiped the sweat mixed with ash away from his forehead, and made his way toward the pokemon center. Along the way, he passed farmers working on their crops with whatever pokemon helper they had. Some acted as plows, others as additional field hands.

"Daddy daddy, this new Seedot you got me is so cute!"

Brendan turned toward the voice, and saw a young girl in a floral dress holding a Seedot. The man, who Brendan assumed was the father said something he could not hear, and ruffled the young girls hair. The girl smiled and placed the Seedot on the ground. The girl then began to chase the Seedot. Brendan smiled and continued on his way.

Brendan finally reached the pokemon center and entered the facility. He walked up to the counter and was immediately greeted by the Nurse Joy stationed there. "Why hello again, it's nice to see you! Hey, where is that gal you had running along beside ya?"

"She's not doing so well" Brendan replied "she's a little uh...sick."

"Oh well I'm sorry to hear that, what can I do for ya?" Nurse Joy asked, leaning forward on the counter with her fist under her chin. Brendan pulled out his pokeballs and asked "can you heal these for me?"

"Sure can" Nurse Joy responded as she picked Brendan's pokeballs and placed them in a healing apparatus that was situated behind the counter with her. "They'll be ready soon!"

"That's good, now I'm just going to head out real fast and return something to somebody. Can I leave my pokemon here for awhile?" Brendan asked. Nurse Joy nodded, and Brendan went on his way towards the door, bumping into a six foot tall blonde boy wearing shorts, a t-shirt with green eyes, and a Poliwhirl by his side.

"Sorry bout that" Brendan said in a rushed voice as he passed the boy, and went on his way. The boy looked toward Brendan, shrugged, and entered the pokemon center. He walked up to the counter.

"Hello ma'am" the boy greeted "my name's Sam, I just came here from Sinnoh. I was wondering if you could heal my pokemon?"

"Why of course I can!" Nurse Joy said happily "just place your pokeballs on the table, and I'll get to them once I'm done with another trainer's pokemon okay."

Sam nodded and began to place his pokeballs on the table, just as the healing apparatus _pinged. _"The pokemon are fully healed" Nurse Joy said as she turned toward Sam "yours are next."

"Thank you" Sam said once again as Nurse Joy walked over toward the healing apparatus and began to place Brendan's pokeballs on a tray. As she did this, Sam's Poliwhirl started to pull on his trainers shorts. Sam looked down and saw Poliwhirl pointing at his leg with a pained expression on his face. "You want to get healed to?"

Poliwhirl nodded.

"But all you did was bump your leg against the back of a chair on the flight over here" Sam said as he looked toward his pokemon. Poliwhirl stood silent for awhile, then began to cling on his leg as if it were in mortal pain. Sam chuckled "you just want to go in the healing machine don't you."

Poliwhirl nodded.

"But alright" Sam said as he picked up his friend and placed him on the counter, just as Nurse Joy walked over holding the tray with Brendan's pokeballs. "Excuse me ma'am, I hope you don't mind checking my friend Poliwhirl here. He would like to go in that healing machine over there, but I don't carry him in a pokeball. Do you have a spare one that he could get in to use the machine?"

"Why of course!" Nurse Joy replied as she went to place Brendan's pokeballs on the counter, but stopped in the middle of her movement as she locked her eyes on the swirls on Poliwhirl's stomach.

Sam stared at the unmoving Nurse for a moment. It was weird, she made no movements at all. She stayed in a fixed position that looked very uncomfortable. Poliwhirl looked at Sam, then at Nurse Joy, then back at Sam again. Sam shrugged his shoulders and leaned toward Nurse Joy.

"M-Ma'am, or you alright?"

Suddenly Nurse Joy jerked upright, sending Brendan's pokeballs scattering across the floor behind the counter. As they hit the floor, some of the balls released. To be specific, Brendan's Nuzleaf and Marshtomp were released.

"Tomp!" _"Hell yeah, I'm ready to battle!"_

"Leaf" _"I can't believe I lost a battle right after I evo-what the hell is wrong with that Nurse?!"_

Sam, Poliwhirl, Nuzleaf, and Marshtomp all looked in shock as the Nurse began to shudder, her body making strange metallic sounds. It sounded as if two gears were jamming up. Suddenly Nurse Joy's mouth opened, and a low static voice escaped from her lips.

**_"Error! Malfunction in the optical drivers. Please contact maintenance personnel immediately."_**

After uttering those words, Nurse Joy's head began to spin like that one girl from The Exorcist until finally there was a small _pop _on her face and her 'skin' flew off, partially revealing a robotic skull frame. The android nurse's head began to spin around once more.

"NUZLEAF!" _"OH SHIT, THIS LADY'S GONE DEMONIC! FUCK THIS I'M OUTTA HERE!"_

"Tomp Marshtomp!" _"We have to wait for Brendan!"_

"Leaf Nuzleaf!" _"You kidding me? Brendan would WANT us to run away from this. Just look at her, her fucking head's spinning like a damn chopper blade!"_

"Tomp!" _"But wait-"_

It was too late, Nuzleaf leapt over the counter and ran outside. Sam and Poliwhirl were still stunned by what was unfolding before their eyes. Back in Sinnoh, they didn't have android nurses. That 'convenience' was given to region-nations aligned with the Hoenn Petrodollar by the Silph Company back in Kanto.

**_"WARNING: Cell Leakage in primary combat parameters. Hostiles will be halted by any means necessary. Please clear the room. The Silph Company is not liable for any personal injury inflicted on one or more persons during hostile sweep routine."_**

Unfortunately Sam and Poliwhirl were the only people in Nurse Joy's line of sight. _**"Hostiles detected. Lethal force will be used."**_

Sam and Poliwhirl gasped, just as Marshtomp opened his mouth and shot a powerful pressurized burst of water at the Nurse Joy robot. The direct hit sent the android flying toward the wall of the center.

**_BAM_**

She hit, leaving a large crack on the sturdy walls and fell to the floor with a loud _THUD._

There was a moment of silence. Then Sam and Poliwhirl stood up. They gave the aftermath of the chaos that unfolded the once over, and walked over toward the counter. The looked over and saw Marshtomp standing near the destroyed robot, panting heavily and wiping sweat away from his head with his thick arm.

"Thank you" Sam said sincerely.

"Poli!" _"Yes thank you, that would've been ugly if it weren't for you."_

"Tomp" _"Ah it was nothing, y'all would've done the same if it were me and my trainer in your shoes...by the way, where is my trainer?"_

Sam looked at Marshtomp holding his chin with his large three fingered hand. Sam guessed he was wondering where his trainer was, and assumed that the trainer in question was the boy that bumped into him earlier.

"I think I saw your trainer not to long ago. Just before this whole fiasco. C'mon, we'll go find him and your other friend that ran out of here."

Marshtomp nodded and scooped the rest of Brendan's pokeballs with his large arms, and walked over toward Sam and Poliwhirl who were near the exit. Sam opened the door for the two pokemon. Before heading out with them, he gave the devastated one last glance.

"I hope somebody cleans this mess up..."

* * *

**Back to Brendan...**

After leaving his pokemon to get healed by the kindly Nurse Joy, Brendan made his way down the rustic dirt roads of Fallarbor Town. He was searching for Prof. Cozmo's house. Although he was unsure, he did see a house with a somewhat large satellite on its roof when he walked over to Meteor Falls with May right before she went too Mt. Chimney to try and stop Team Magma. At the time being he assumed that was where the Cozmos resided, what with there name being Cozmo, and the house having a satellite on its roof. It just made sense. His assumption was confirmed as he finally reached the house and walked up the front steps. He gave the door two knocks, while still holding the meteorite with one hand. Brendan stood there for a short moment until the door opened and revealed a familiar face.

"Oh it's you!" Mrs. Cozmo exclaimed with a happy smile plastered on her face "I'm so happy to see you again! You don't know how grateful I am for you and your little girlfriend to go out of your way to save my husband. By the way, where is your girlfriend?"

"S-She's not my girlfriend" Brendan blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oops, sorry about that!" Mrs. Cozmo giggled "it's just that you two seem so cute together. I just assumed you both had a thing for each other."

"Uhhh it's okay" Brendan replied, with a hint of red still formed across his cheeks "but I'm actually here to return this meteorite to your husband." Brendan held the meteorite up so Mrs. Cozmo. Her eyes immediately sparkled, showing she was delighted.

"I can't believe you found it!" she exclaimed "you know, my husband is going to be estatic! Although personally, I hate that damn space rock. It's the reason why my husband lost four of his fingers to those heartless criminals..."

"I'm sorry about all that" Brendan said, cringing at the memory of Prof. Cozmo getting his finger severed.

"Don't be uhh...Brendan was it, you didn't do it, and if it weren't for you and your girl-uh _friend, _my husband could've possibly lost more than his fingers" Mrs. Cozmo replied "why don't you come in, my husband would love to see you."

Brendan nodded and entered the house. What he first noticed was it was a mess. Not to pick on Mrs. Cozmo's housekeeping or anything, but the place looked like either Prof. Cozmo or Mrs. Cozmo pissed in the wrong guy's coffee, and he came back for revenge. Research papers and scientific instruments were strewn about, even though there were tables and cabinets that could've housed them neatly. Mrs. Cozmo lead Brendan to another room.

"He's in here" she told him "I got to get dinner ready, why don't you go give him the meteorite."

"That's what I'm here for" Brendan chuckled. Mrs. Cozmo nodded and asked "would you like to stay for dinner, it's the least we could do for you after all you've done for us."

"Sorry ma'am" Brendan replied "I can't stay long. I got to go pick up my pokemon and head straight back to Lavaridge when I'm done here."

"Oh okay" Mrs. Cozmo said with an understanding smile "quite a busy life you must live."

"It sure is."

Mrs. Cozmo nodded and walked off into the kitchen. When she was gone, Brendan entered the room. This room was dark (since the lights were turned off). The only light came from a small T.V that gave off a rod shaped beam of light that illuminated some of the room, such as a dresser, a pair of shoes strewn about, and Prof. Cozmo lying on a bed watching said T.V, while holding onto his left hand which was encased in a thick wrap of bandages (except for his thumb, which was the only digit that remained on his left hand).

"Hello Prof. Cozmo" Brendan greeted. Prof. Cozmo, who was occupied by the T.V, gasped and turned his head toward the voice. He immediately eased when he saw who it was "oh it's you!" he said with happiness in his voice "it's good to see you again! Why are you here?"

"I'm here because I got a present for you sir..." Brendan said with a sly smile as he hid the meteorite behind his back.

"Is it my fingers?" Prof. Cozmo asked with a frown "because I don't care for them anymore. I've already accepted they're gone." After he said this, a mischievous smile formed on his face "besides, I never did use my _left _hand much hehehe..."

Brendan stood silent for a while "...Uhhhh, I don't get it..."

"Wha-Boy, you should know a funny joke when you here one. Especially a dirty one, What are you like seventeen?"

"Fifteen" Brendan corrected.

"Oh" Prof. Cozmo replied "you look older because of all the..." Prof. Cozmo sat up and got into a bodybuilder's pose "mass and what not."

"Uhh sir" Brendan started, with a worried expression on his face "are you on something right now?"

"Painkillers" Prof. Cozmo replied bluntly "for my stumps. I'm only suppose to take two a day, but I'll let you in on a little secret" he leaned close to Brendan's ear "I've been taking four a day!"

"FOUR!" Brendan exclaimed with shock "is the pain that bad?"

"No" Prof. Cozmo replied, shaking his head "they just taste really good" he pulled the medication from under his covers and brought it close to Brendan "want some? they're cherry flavored!"

"I'll pass" Brendan said, shaking his head.

"Suite yourself" Prof. Cozmo said as he popped another pill into his mouth "you know, I think the companies that make these really do want people to get addicted to this stuff. Then they can make another drug for the addiction, and get the patient addicted to the new drug! HA, ain't capitalism something!"

"Uh yeah..."

"So what was this surprise you had for me?" Prof. Cozmo asked as he placed the medication back under his bed. "Oh that!" Brendan exclaimed. During the conversation, he had almost forgot he was holding the meteorite behind his back. "So Professor, what if I told you that a certain someone recovered a certain space rock that is crucial to your research?"

Prof. Cozmo's eyes widened. He slowly turned his head toward Brendan "you don't mean..."

"Yup!" Brendan replied, revealing the meteorite to the six fingered professor "here it is, just like you found it!"

Prof. Cozmo looked upon it in awe for a moment, and then grasped it. "Oh I've been waiting for you for so long!" he cried as he began to plant small angel kisses on the meteorite "how can I ever repay you?"

"Don't need to be repaid" Brendan replied "it was the right thing to do."

"You're a saint young one!" Prof. Cozmo proclaimed "but still, I feel you should be rewarded." After he said this, Prof. Cozmo reached under his bed and pulled out a small jagged oval stone, gray in color. "This is a Moon Stone" Prof. Cozmo said, handing it to Brendan "it can make certain pokemon evolve."

"Wow really!" Brendan said with the excitement of a child that just learned he could spend an entire day by himself at a theme park "what kind of pokemon can it evolve?"

"Only specific pokemon" Prof. Cozmo replied "an example from this region would be Skitty I believe..."

Brendan's smile faded lightly _"Oh, I don't have a Skitty..." _but when he realized someone else had that pokemon, his smile came back onto his face _"But May has one! Oh I bet this would be a perfect present for her! I know it will cheer her up, and right now, she could use all the cheering she can get..."_

Brendan grabbed the Moon Stone and placed it in his backpack. "Thank you Professor, it's been a real pleasure visiting you and your lovely wife."

"And it's been a pleasure seeing you again youngster" Prof. Cozmo replied "but why are you leaving so soon? Don't you want to stay awhile?"

"I would love to but I can't" Brendan replied "my friend-"

"Oh the girl!" Prof. Cozmo interrupted "I remember her, how is she doing?"

"She's pretty 'sick'" Brendan said, not wanting to reveal what was actually afflicting May because it was so deeply personal "that's why I have to go right now, to take care of her."

"Awww that's so sweet" Prof. Cozmo muttered with a voice that was made to envoke the idea of mushy love "ahhhh, young love..."

"I-It's not like that" Brendan protested "w-we're just friends, really really close friends."

"Whatever you say lover boy" Prof. Cozmo chuckled "I won't keep you from your damsel in distress. Run to her young one, run to her!"

"Uh yeah, I'll do that" Brendan mumbled as he left the house, leaving behind a hysterical Prof. Cozmo laughing at his own joke.

* * *

Brendan walked back over to the pokemon center. _"Okay, just need to pick up my pokemon then I'll be on my way." _As he thought this, he opened the doors and gasped when he saw what laid before his eyes. A devastated pokemon center with cracked walls, overturned chairs, bits of concrete strewn about, and a robotic Nurse Joy lying amongst the mess.

"What...the fuck...happened here?!"

As gathered his bearings from the initial shock, Brendan remembered exactly why he came back here in the first place.

_"Oh no, my pokemon!"_

Brendan dashed across the center's lounge, scrambled over the counter and peered inside the healing apparatus Nurse Joy used to get people's pokemon into tip-top shape. His pokemon were not in there.

Brendan's heart began to beat faster, as his forehead and pits started to leak with sweat. "Oh no. Oh no" he kept muttering as he frantically searched the center for any sign of his pokemon...none.

_"Oh no, I can't lose my pokemon. Oh my god, if I lost them, I-I-oh I don't even want to think about it..."_

Brendan placed his hands on a table that wasn't overturned as support as he began to hyperventilate.

_"Oh my god I lost my pokemon, I lost them! WhatdoI, whatdoIdo!? **You can stop acting like a pansy, that's something you can do! **OH Thank GOD you're back! Okay, here's the situation...**I know the situation you moron, I am you...just not the overreacting girly side...**Alright so...whatdowedo? **First calm down. Deep breaths okay, **okay...yeah deep breaths 'whew' deep breaths...**Okay, now that you've gotten a hold of yourself, let's assess the situation. You left our pokemon here to heal while we went over to Prof. Cozmo's house to give him his meteorite back...**yup yup, all correct...**and now we came back, and the center is in shambles, and our pokemon are gone...**YES THAT'S ALL STUFF I KNOW, WHAT DO WE DO NOW?! **I can't think with you getting all emotional! **Sorry, I'm just very on edge right now! **Me too, they're my damn pokemon to ya know...Hmmmm, where could our-Wait, check the Nurse Joy bot!"**_

Brendan nodded his head vigorously, like a predator shaking his head to rip his food into chunks he can swallow, and went over to the destroyed Nurse Joy bot. _"It's soaked! **Which means...**A water pokemon must've stopped it...MARSHTOMP! **Bingo! **Yes, Marshtomp destroyed the Nurse Joy bot! Something must've gone wrong with its circuits, and she went berserk. Only one question remains, how did he get out? **That's irrelevant, what we should ask is where is he and the rest of the pokemon? **Whereever they are, they aren't in here. Let's look outside for clues. **Yes let's..."**_

Brendan walked carefully past the rubble, and made his way out of the pokemon center. Once again he was on the dirt roads of Fallarbor, while the falling ash peppered his face, shoulders, and head.

_"Alright, now it's time for some detective work!" _Brendan cracked his knuckles _"I'm going to be just like Sherlock Holmes! Now, where to start...**I see them. **Wait what, whadya mean you see them? **I see our pokemon, well two to be exact. Marshtomp and Nuzleaf. They're standing over there."**_

Brendan looked to where his eyes were leading him, and indeed he did see his pokemon...standing next to the boy he bumped into. _"What's he doing with my pokemon? **Go see."**_

"Alrighty then" Brendan muttered as he walked over toward the boy with his pokemon.

* * *

**A few minutes ago with Nuzleaf...**

_SWOOSH_

The pokemon center's doors flew open as Nuzleaf raced through them, desperate to get away from the creepy robot Nurse Joy. He continued to run until he was far enough away too not hear the robot's metallic and somewhat demonic voice. Once he stopped, he placed his hands on his thighs and began to pant.

"Leaf, Leaf..." _"God damn...that was scary as fuck...no way I'm staying in there with the devil's bride going berserk in there..."_

Nuzleaf turned around to see if the others had come to their senses and followed them outside. They were not.

"Leaf, Nuzleaf" _"Crazy bastards are braver than me, staying in there to face that abomination. Screw that, I will fight many things, but when it comes to demons, I stay the fuck away."_

Nuzleaf continued to try and catch his breath. As he did this however, he felt a pang of guilt for leaving the rest alone with evil Nurse demon/robot Joy.

"Nuz...leaf" _"Shit, I shouldn't have left them there...Argg! I gotta go back, no matter how scared I am, I have to go back. Even if that demon drags me too hell with it, I must go back."_

After pumping himself up, Nuzleaf turned toward the direction of the pokemon center. His thighs tightened as he prepared to sprint over there. Then he would burst open the doors and-

_SWOOSH_

Before Nuzleaf could make his heroic reentrance, Marshtomp and the two strangers stepped outside unharmed. Nuzleaf looked at them for moment, and then face palmed.

"Leaf..." _"Oh well, so much for a heroic comeback...at least they are okay..."_

Nuzleaf removed his palm away from his face, and started to move his legs in the direction of Sam, Poliwhirl, and Marshtomp when he felt something familiar land on his head. He looked up to the sky, and saw it was partialy covered by a light rain of ash. Nuzleaf's stood shocked with his mouth agape (which allowed for some of the ash to fall into his mouth.

_"No, it can't be..."_

Nuzleaf lifted his gaze away from the sky and looked up and down the streets, noticing the familiar farms and ranch houses, even the people were familiar! He looked down onto the road he was standing on and gasped. He walked on this road many times before with his old partner...the little girl they called Lily. The last time he saw her was when they were played together on this exact same road. They were playing a game that could only be made up in the mind of a young innocent six year old. He remembered he was suppose to be some kind of acorn knight, while she was the princess in need of his help. He was suppose to try and jump across the dirt road, because it was suppose to be some sort of lava flow...well that's how he remembered it.

Then they came.

Nuzleaf guessed he was having too much fun, because he never heard Lily telling him to watch out for the speeding truck barreling towards him. Luckily it didn't hit him, but it did catch the attention of the two men in the car. The truck came screeching to a halt, and the two men, as fat and bloated as the inflation that plagued the Hoenn pokedollar, came out of the truck. One held a net, while the other held a wooden cage. The giant men loomed over him and Lily, casting them in a large fat shadow. He remembered there was a tense moment before they pounced, the LONGEST moment in his life. He remembered the weight of the obese man as they both toppled on top of him, apparently forgetting the capturing equipment they held in their hands. Nuzleaf could still remember the pressure, heat, and smell. The smell was the worst. Each man expelled a horrid stench that smelled like an asparagus somehow became sentient and had itself a dandy meal of beans lathered in bean juice. Then when the time came, it sharted all the excrement into a disgusting tetanus infested porto-potty. After what seemed like forever in the thick skin flaps of the fat men, they got off him, leaving Nuzleaf (back then a Seedot) gasping for air. Before he could react, one of the fat asses entrapped him in the net, while the other opened the cage. Then in one swift motion (something unreal considering their size) flung him into the cage. The cage was then flung into the back of the truck while the two fat men went back into the truck and told each other how much money they could make from a rare pokemon like him (their prediction was wrong, nobody wanted to buy poor Seedot, so instead of keeping the 'hot item' with them, they gave it away via a raffle). The last thing Nuzleaf saw was Lily's grief stricken face as tears flowed down her cheeks like a waterfall.

Nuzleaf stood silent for a moment, as he let the memories sink in. As he looked over at the street, he heard Marshtomp and the two strangers talking to each other, most likely about finding him. He could go to them, and save them the time, but they could wait. He was home.

Nuzleaf ran down the street, toward his former masters house. He_ had_ to see Lily again, he _had_ to. Memories of her smiling face made his drive increase even more. By the time he was halfway there, he was at full sprint.

Then in the distance, he could see the old ranch house...his home.

As he approached, he saw the old man, Lily's father. He was hitting the soil with a hoe. Nuzleaf's heart began to beat faster. If he was still here, Lily was definitely here as well. He began to walk now, his legs trembling from the run and his excitement...Then he saw her. Little blonde haired Lily with her ever present smile...playing with another Seedot.

Nuzleaf stopped and immediately fell to his knees. It couldn't be, Lily could never do THAT. Yet before his eyes, Lily frolicked and played with a happy young Seedot, just like they use to. After observing them for a few more moments, reality sank into Nuzleaf...he had been replaced.

A lone tear fell from Nuzleaf. He thought he was special, but apparently not. Sure they probably grieved for him for awhile, but it probably didn't take long for them to come up with the solution for their loss...get a new Seedot. To hell with the old one, he's gone, we've gotta move on, and they did. He was a forgotten relic, an old dusty memory that would sit in the back of the minds of the whole family until it would ultimately fade into nothing.

"Leaf..." _"I'm...nothing...Lily, how could you?"_

_..._

_..._

_..._

"Tomp!" _"Hey Nuzleaf!"_

Nuzleaf slowly turned his head around and saw the two strangers, and Marshtomp holding the rest of Brendan's pokeballs, running toward him. Nuzleaf didn't move at all. Sorrow had numbed his muscles.

"Hey there little guy" the blonde haired stranger said as they all reached him "you're pretty fast, not much time passed between you leaving the center and us leaving, and you're all the way over here!"

"Poli" _"Impressive, I must say you have some powerful legs on you, because the trip was well over half a mile."_

Nuzleaf didn't respond. he just nodded and continued to look towards Lily and her new Seedot. Marshtomp walked over to Nuzleaf and sat next to him.

"Leaf?" _How'd you find me?"_

"Marsh" _"I sniffed you out. If ya haven't noticed, I have quite powerful nose."_

Nuzleaf nodded, and continued to look glumly toward Lily and the new Seedot. Marshtomp noticed the stress on Nuzleaf's face.

"Tomp, Marshtomp?" _"Hey buddy, what's wrong?"_

"...Nuzleaf..." _"...I'm nothing is what..."_

Marshtomp opened his mouth to reply, but Sam cut him off "hey I think I see your trainer." Marshtomp and Nuzleaf turned their heads around, and sure enough there was Brendan running towards them.

"There you all are!"

Brendan stopped when he reached the group. Once he saw Marshtomp, Nuzleaf, and the rest of his pokeballs, he let out a sigh of relief "thank god you all are okay." He then turned to Sam and pointed in the direction of the pokemon center "what the hell happened back there?"

"The Nurse Joy went berserk for some reason" Sam replied "I didn't even know she was a robot! Luckily your Marshtomp saved us."

Brendan looked toward his Marshtomp "good job buddy."

Marshtomp nodded.

"Marshtomp" _"No problem."_

"After all that" Sam continued, "we exited the building to look for your Nuzleaf, because he ran out of the center as soon as the Nurse Joy robot started malfunctioning. I guess it spooked him or something, so me, Poliwhirl, and your Marshtomp went looking for him. We found him sitting here, then your Marshtomp started talking to him, then you came, and here we are now."

"Oh, well thanks" Brendan said as he grabbed Sam's hand and shook it. He then kneeled down so Marshtomp could hand him his pokeballs. "Thanks" Brendan muttered as he clipped his pokeballs onto his belt and took out two empty ones to recall Marshtomp and Nuzleaf, but stopped when he saw Nuzleaf. "Nuzleaf, are you okay?"

Nuzleaf sat silent. Marshtomp turned toward Brendan and shook his head.

"Tomp" _"No he's not. I don't know why, but he's feeling like he's nothing..."_

"Why is he feeling down?" Brendan asked, unable to understand what Marshtomp said because...well all Brendan heard was "Tomp."

Brendan turned toward Sam "do you know what's wrong with him?" Sam shook his head "not a clue, we found him this way."

As Sam and Brendan talked, Nuzleaf had seen enough. He couldn't stand to see Lily play with his replacement any longer. Each second was an ever increasing strain in his heart. He gritted his teeth, balled his fists, and ran off.

"NUZLEAF!" Brendan shouted as Nuzleaf left the group in his dust. Brendan tried recalling him, but before he could lift his pokeball up, Nuzleaf was far away and heading out of town, in the direction of Route 114.

"Oh shit!" Brendan muttered under his breath as he turned toward Marshtomp "come on buddy, we got to go get Nuzleaf back!"

Marshtomp nodded, as he and Brendan raced off toward Route 114 and Nuzleaf, leaving a trail of dust (as well as Sam and Poliwhirl) behind them. After the dust cleared, and Sam and Poliwhirl stopped coughing, Sam turned toward his loyal friend "Oh boy, you think that guy is going to need our help?" Poliwhirl nodded.

"Poli" _"Yup, I think you and I might have to save the day again. That Nuzleaf was real stressed. Who knows what trouble he can get himself and his friends into."_

"You're right buddy, let's get moving then" Sam said as he and Poliwhirl raced off in the direction of Route 114, the noon Hoenn sun shining down unto them.

* * *

"Nuzleaf come back!" Brendan yelled as he ran down the large wooden bridge that lead to Route 1114. Marshtomp followed behind, trying his best to keep up with Brendan despite his short legs.

"Tomp Marshtomp!" _"Damnit slow down! I don't have four legs anymore, so I can't run as fast!"_

Nuzleaf heard them, but he didn't care. Sure he knew not listening to his trainer was disrespectful, and he did value respect, he had to be alone. He just wanted to be by himself for awhile, but he knew Brendan wouldn't let him. You see Brendan while having a giant heart, was pretty oblivious. He was certain Nuzleaf was stressed out, but didn't realize he needed time alone. All he knew was his pokemon was hurting, and he was desperate to help.

Soon Nuzleaf stepped off the wooden bridge, and found himself on a narrow dirt path flanked by six foot tall grass.

"Nuzleaf wait, it's me Brendan! You know I just want to help you!"

Nuzleaf looked back and muttered under his breath. "Leaf..." _"I know pal, but I need some time alone. I'll find you when I'm ready..."_

As Brendan and Marshtomp loomed closer, Nuzleaf ran into the vast expanse of the sit foot tall grass. As he saw this, Brendan gasped and stopped in his tracks, just as Marshtomp came runninginto him

_CRASH_

Brendan was sent sprawling to the floor with Marshtomp.

"Owww..." Brendan muttered as he slowly stood up and rubbed his scraped underarms "that hurt."

"Marsh-tomp..." _"Ugh, you can say that again..."_

Once Brendan was upright, he helped Marshtomp up and looked toward the tall grass Nuzleaf had entered. "Oh man, finding Nuzleaf is NOT going to be easy in this stuff" he said as he rubbed one of the tall blades "what the hell was he thinking?"

Marshtomp shrugged his shoulders. Brendan sighed "well looks like we have to go after him. Good thing you got such an impressive nose!" Marshtomp smiled proudly at Brendan's compliment, and the two went into the tall grass. A few minutes later, Sam and Poliwhirl arrived on the path.

"Huh, looks like their tracks stop here" Sam observed as he pointed down at Brendan and Marshtomp's tracks "they headed into the grass..." Sam looked up and saw how tall the grass was "jeez, the grass here is as big as me."

Poliwhirl nodded in agreement.

"Well I guess we should head in old friend."

Poliwhirl nodded again, and the duo walked into the grass to look for Brendan, Marshtomp, and Nuzleaf.

* * *

_"Nuzleaf where are you!"_

Brendan's distant cries rang in Nuzleaf's ears as he sat on the sturdy branch of a large jagged tree with a large wide expanse of branches that loomed over the tall grass like a large hovering U.F.O made of twigs and leaves. Nuzleaf really didn't want to worry Brendan so, but he needed time to think.

_"How could they have replaced me so quickly? I thought I was family, I though I was one of them, but they cast me away like I was trash. I am nothing, my life means nothing. If I had died, they wouldn't think of me for a fleeting second. They would just get a replacement and move on with their lives..._

_Move on..."_

Nuzleaf stood up on the branch. _"Too hell with them! If they can forget about me and move on, so can I! I'm not nothing, I got a great friend looking for me right now! I'm something to him, hold on Brendan, I'm comi-"_

Before Nuzleaf could finish his inner monologue, he felt something very sharp slap him on the back. "LEAF!" he cried in pain as he fell from the branch and tumbled toward the ground.

_BAM_

Nuzleaf crashed head first onto the ground, getting swallowed up by the large blades of grass. "Leaf..." Nuzleaf grunted in pain as he tried to stand up, but quickly felt a sharp pain on his back.

"Nuzleaf!" _"Oh god, that hurts like hell!"_

Nuzleaf turned his head around, looked at his back, and gasped. There on his back was a large gash that bleed somewhat. What was really troubling to Nuzleaf was the small purplish streams of liquid that was mixed in with his blood. Nuzleaf tried to look up toward the tree to see what attacked him, but the grass was too tall. He couldn't see a thing.

_SWISH_

Behind him, the grass rustled. Something had passed by. Nuzleaf stood motionless, as his muscles tensed. His heart beat a mile a minute. Whatever this was, it was large, and if it was like the thing that had struck him in the tree, he was in deep trouble.

_SWISH_

Another patch of grass rustled. Nuzleaf began to notice that the unseen life form was circling him. Nuzleaf began to sweat. Now he was positive this thing had ill intent, and the worst part was he could not see a thing.

_"Oh man, I should have never ran off..."_

Suddenly, something pounced on Nuzleaf. Nuzleaf grunted in pain, as he felt a long scaly body wrap around him. The body began to tighten ever so slowly. Nuzleaf gasped, which was a bad move because it took all the air out of his lungs, and with the increasing pressure from the tightening body, Nuzleaf would not be able to take in another breath of air.

"Leaf..."

...

...

...

"OH MY GOD, quick Marshtomp use Water Gun!"

Nuzleaf slowly started to come back to his senses when he heard Brendan's voice, which was followed by a loud pressurized _splash, _and a shrill high pitched hiss. Whatever was suffocating Nuzleaf had loosened its grip and let him grow. As Nuzleaf fell to the floor and gasped for air, he looked up and saw Brendan with Marshtomp by his side. Brendan's eyes were wide with fear. Nuzleaf turned around to see what Brendan was staring at, and gasped when he saw what laid before his eyes.

A large serpentine beast laid on the ground, coiled and ready to strike. The giant snake was mostly black, with yellow hexagon markings that ran from its head to tail. It's eyes were a deep shade of red, and it had two very powerful weapons: A large pair of fangs, and a thick bladed tail.

"Quick Nuzleaf, come over here with me where it's safe!" Brendan yelled. Nuzleaf immediately started to crawl over to Brendan, but stopped as soon as he saw another serpentine monster loom over Brendan.

"Nuzleaf why'd you stop?" Brendan asked, puzzled by Nuzleaf's halt in movement. But then he noticed that he didn't feel any heat on the back of his neck. He knew it was noon, and the sun should've been up, but there was no heat. That's when Brendan noticed he was shrouded in a shadow, a shadow created by something much larger than him. He turned around, looked up, and gasped.

_"SEVIPER!"_

Without warning, the large serpentine pokemon raised its bladed tail, and prepared to slam it onto Brendan. He tried to move, but the snake had looked him right in the eye. The glare had paralyzed Brendan's nerves, he couldn't move.

Marshtomp noticed Brendan's inability to move, and acted quickly. He slammed into Brendan's side, sending Brendan away from Seviper's tail, but in the process, getting struck by the tail himself.

"Tomp!" Marshtomp cried in pain as the large Seviper hissed, removed his tail from his back, and bared his fangs. Nuzleaf knew Seviper was going to bite down on Marshtomp. He needed to act fast. Despite the pain in his back, Nuzleaf stood up and charged toward the Seviper ready to attack Marshtomp. Noticing Nuzleaf move toward him, Seviper shifted his attention away from Marshtomp and toward Nuzleaf. Seviper sprung toward the wily pokemon with his mouth open, and fangs barred. Just as the snake came in close, Nuzleaf quickly used Fake Out, and clapped his hands together. This caused Seviper to flinch and halt his attack, giving Nuzleaf a chance to attack. Unfortunately for him, he forgot about the second Seviper behind him. The other Seviper raised his bladed tail and swung it in a sweeping motion.

"LEAF!" Nuzleaf cried in pain as he was sent flying into the tall grass. He landed with a _thud _right next to Brendan, who laid motionless on the ground. Nuzleaf looked over to him, and then beyond the grass, where he could hear Marshtomp desperately trying to fend off the two large Sevipers with his Water Gun. Despite his best efforts, Nuzleaf knew he would fail.

"Leaf, Nuzleaf..." _"What have I done? I-If I hadn't run off, none of us would be in this situation...it's all my fault..."_

Nuzleaf turned back toward Brendan and started to shake him in an effort to wake him up.

"Nuzleaf Nuzleaf!" _"Come on wake up buddy, we really need you!"_

No response. Brendan was unconscious. Being paralyzed from Seviper's Glare had tensed his muscles. When Marshtomp tackled him out of the way, he landed on his head. If he wasn't paralyzed, he could've probably shifted in a certain way to protect his head, but unfortunately he was. Now he was unconscious for the time being. Still, Nuzleaf tried to shake his trainer awake.

"Leaf Nuzleaf Leaf!" _"Please wake up Brendan, we're all dead if you don't!"_

Nuzleaf shook some more, but quickly stopped and gave up.

_"We're all dead. It's my fault. I-I'm going to be responsible for the death of all of us!"_

As he thought this, he heard Marshtomp's pained cries. He was losing the battle. As Nuzleaf sat in defeat, broken by the thought of him being responsible for the death of his closest friends, he noticed a faint green light coming from Brendan's half open backpack. Without thought, as if he was drawn to the light, moved his hand closer to it. Surprisingly, the light grew in intensity. Nuzleaf placed his whole hand into Brendan's backpack, and searched for the light source. After a quick couple of seconds, Nuzleaf found it, and grabbed it. He pulled his hand out of the bag, and in his hand was a shining green stone with the imprint of a leaf on it.

Suddenly he felt a strange sensation. It was as if whatever energy that was coming from the stone was transferring to him. His cells burst with activity and pleasure. he felt himself start to change.

Then he started to shine.

The light became brighter and brighter, until it was almost blinding. Then when it reached its peak, it became faint until eventually ceasing to exist. Nuzleaf was gone, now he was an entirely different pokemon, one bursting with power and strength that was so desperate to be unleashed. The pokemon that was once Nuzleaf began to stride back to where the two giant Sevipers were, to confront them.

* * *

_WHAM_

Marshtomp slapped one of the large Sevipers that came in close to try and bite him. As the Seviper that was slapped reeled back from the attack, the other Seviper swung his tail toward Marshtomp. Fortunately Marshtomp's reflexes were top notch, and he evaded the attack. But even after evading Seviper's attack, he knew he couldn't keep it up much longer. At first using Water Gun had kept them at bay, but fighting two pokemon in an obscuring environment was extremely difficult. Marshtomp had been able to keep them at bay for only so long until they drew closer to him. Then, he couldn't afford to use Water Gun. If he shot one, the other would attack. Now his only option was to try and evade the large snakes.

_"Seviper!"_

_WHOOSH_

Once again Seviper swung, but this time Marshtomp after fighting by himself for quite awhile, he was not fast enough to evade the attack. The bladed tail slammed him onto the ground. He grunted in pain as he tried to get back up, but his muscles were finally giving in. His arms buckled and he fell back onto the floor defeated. He braced himself as the Sevipers started to close in for the kill...

Suddenly

_SWISH_

_SWISH_

A flurry of sharp leaves cut through the large blades of grass from somewhere beyond Marshtomp's line of sight. The leaves continued to cut across the area, heading straight toward the two Sevipers.

_SLASH_

_SLASH_

_"Seviper!" _the two giant snake pokemon hissed in pain as the sharp leaves tore against their skin leaving it bleeding and lacerated. As the Sevipers stared at their wounds in shock, Marshtomp looked over to where the leaves had come from. He saw the grass disperse, and a pokemon he had never seen before cameinto view.

This pokemon was large and colored mostly brown. He had a large white mane that covered the upper half of his face (excluding his eyes, nose, and ears) and flowed down his back. Instead of hands, he had three broad leaves on each arm.

"Shiftry!" the pokemon cried as he lifted his arms in the air to show off his large impressive leaves. _"Hey Marshtomp, I evolved!"_

"Tomp Marshtomp?" _"Nuzleaf is that you?"_

"Shift, Shiftry" _"Yeah, I WAS Nuzleaf, but now I'm a Shiftry! Can you believe that, I'm a freakin Shiftry!"_

"Marshtomp Marshtomp" _"Congratulations, I'm really happy for you! I promise to give you a proper celebration once we get of this mess okay."_

"Shift" _"Alright, you just lay there and recover. I got this!"_

Shiftry walked past Marshtomp and went over toward the two Sevipers to confront them. The Sevipers, who had finally recovered from their attacks, looked down at Shiftry with rage in their eyes. Each one raised their tails, ready to slam them onto Shiftry. Shiftry acted swiftly and jumped into the air, evading the two attacks. As he was in midair, he swung his arms and another flurry of sharp leaves escaped from his hand-leaves, tearing the two Seviper's flesh. Shiftry landed behind the two injured Sevipers and raised his arms horizontally. He began to flap them rapidly, creating a powerful gust of wind. The wind made the grass shake violently, and started to move the large snakes ever so slowly. Shiftry picked up the speed, and the Seviper's began to slide quicker They tried to plant their tails into the ground in a desperate attempt to keep themselves from being lifted off the ground, but it was no use. The wind grew stronger and more violent, eventually lifting the Sevipers into the air and sending them hurdling toward a tree.

_SLAM_

The two Sevipers hit at the same time, both getting knocked out. The tree shook and sent a Swablu flying to the ground. Shiftry did not notice the Swablu due to the adrenaline coursing through his veins, and his mind focused on helping out Marshtomp and Brendan.

"Shift Shiftry" Shiftry said as he walked back to Marshtomp. _"I did it, they've been defeated."_

"Marshtomp" _"That's great buddy, now can you help me up?"_

"Shift Shiftry Shift" _"Oh yeah of course, grab onto my leaves."_

Shiftry held out his leaf-hand, and Marshtomp grabbed a hold of it. Shiftry gave a strong heave, and lifted Marshtomp onto his feet.

"Tomp" _"Thanks."_

"Shiftry" _"No problem."_

"Marsh Tomp Marshtomp" _"Hey where's Brendan? Is he okay?"_

Shiftry gasped and remembered Brendan lying unconscious in the field.

"Shift Shift Shiftry" _"Oh shit I almost forgot! He's back there knocked out. We got to get him out of this place."_

_"Hold on right there!"_

Shiftry and Marshtomp turned toward the angry feminine chirping. Before their eyes was a small blue bird pokemon with cotton like wings.

"Swablu swa!" _"I have a bone to pick with you all! Who the hell do y'all think you are, throwing dangerous pokemon at my tree so I can almost fall out and hit my head!"_

"Marshtomp" _"You got wings don't you."_

"Swa Swablu!" _"Yes, and great reflexes! It's a good thing too, because if I hadn't, I would have landed head first onto the ground and dirtied my beautiful feathers!"_

"Shift Shiftry" _"Look ma'am, I'm sorry I threw those Sevipersat your tree. I had no idea you were in it, but the situation was dire. I needed to act fast."_

"Marshtomp Marsh Marshtomp" _"Yeah, and we aren't out of the woods yet. Our trainer is in bad shape. We need to get him out of here as soon as possible."_

"Swablu?" _"I had no idea, is there any way I can help?"_

"Shift Shitry" _"Yes actually you can. The grass here is too tall, so we won't be able to see where we are going. Can you find a path that will lead us back on the main road?"_

"Marsh Marsh Marshtomp" _"Oh and if you can, find help. Another person can take us somewhere where our trainer can get some help."_

Swablu nodded and flew off to find help. Shiftry and Marshtomp then turned around and went further into the grass to get Brendan. It didn't take long for them to find him. Marshtomp with his amazing strength, slung Brendan over his shoulders (despite Brendan's heavy muscular frame) while Shiftry placed Brendan's legs on his shoulders to keep them from dragging on the ground.

"Shiftry Shift" _"Now all we got to do is wait for Swablu to come get help."_

"Marshtomp Marsh..." _"__I hope she get's some soon"_ he said as he looked toward the orange hued sky_ "the evening has come..."_

* * *

"Hello" Sam yelled as he struggled with his Poliwhirl through the obscuring grass "weird hat guy, where are you? You know you can get lost out here!"

"Poli" _"I think we're lost."_

Although Sam didn't know exactly what Poliwhirl had said, he had a good idea what it was. "That's negative thinking buddy. If you keep thinking like that, we will get lost."

_"Although I have to admit, I have no idea where we are...or how to get back onto the path..."_

"Swablu!"

Sam and Poliwhirl looked up toward the sky (the little that wasn't obscured by the tall blades of grass) and saw a small blue bird pokemon hovering over them and trying to get their attention.

"Hey there" Sam waved "it's good to see you, can you lead us out of here?"

Swablu nodded, and began to fly toward Marshtomp, Shiftry, and Brendan unbeknownst to Sam and Poliwhirl who followed Swablu on foot the best they could. When Swablu finally stopped, Sam and Poliwhirl stood face to face with Marshtomp and Shiftry holding Brendan up.

"Oh it's you guys!" Sam said happily, but his optimism was quickly cast away when he saw Brendan unconscious. "What happened to him?"

"Marsh Marshtomp" Marshtomp said as he used one hand to pretend to hit his face, then proceeded to contort his face into that of one who was unconscious.

"You're saying he got knocked out?"

Both Shiftry and Marshtomp nodded.

"Oh jeez, that's no good" Sam muttered "what do we do know?"

Marshtomp and Shiftry looked at each other, then pointed at Swablu.

"You want us all too follow Swablu?"

The two pokemon nodded once more.

"Alrighty then, let's get moving" Sam said, and the group followed Swablu out of the tall grass and back onto Route 114's narrow path. Sam gave a sigh of relief and looked down at the pokemon "Well this was a crazy day, I guess we should head back to Fallarbor Town. I'll help you guys find someone to care for your trainer okay."

Marshtomp, Shiftry, and Swablu nodded.

"Let's go" Sam said as the group walked off the narrow path and onto the wooden bridge that would lead them back to Fallarbor Town.

**Hello everyone, you have reached the end of this chapter. Before you all go, I would like to say a few things.**

**1. Yes, the Nurse Joys in my story are all androids. I never bought the whole 'they're all sisters' explanation in the anime, so I thought I'd give them their own twist. **

**2. Those guys that kidnapped Shiftry when he was a Seedot were Tweedle-Dick and Tweedle-Douche from one of my previous chapters (I know, very immature names).**

**3. Nothing else, just wanted to say have a good day, night, morning, anytime you're reading this! **


	25. Pour A Little For Me

**Pour A Little For Me...**

**In this chapter, there will be a great deal of pokemon dialogue. So you readers don't get confused, their dialogue will look like this...**

"The pokemon's actual voice"_ "And what they are really saying"_

* * *

The sun: A large burning star that embraced the very essence of duality. Its rays gave energy to the organisms that littered our earth. It was responsible for a farmer's livelihood, no sunlight means no crops. Photosynthesis would not occur without it, and the water cycle would cease to exist without our shining friend in the sky. But even the gaseous ball in our sky that does so much for us can take everything away. Solar flares could cause devastation by destroying our electronic and communication technologies. Too much sunlight could give us diseases such as cancer, and too a helpless individual caught in its rays, it could spell doom. An individual such as May.

The searing desert sun was high in the sky. It heated the landscape to unimaginable heights. Most desert pokemon (most) would have found someplace to rest and wait for the sun to die down a bit. They knew it was dangerous to be out in the intense heat. Unfortunately for May, her nighttime drinking binge had left her unconscious. She had no control of her actions and could not get up to find a refuge from the heat. Although her brown skin, outstanding endurance, and the fact that she was unconscious did help her body counter the searing heat, she wouldn't last for too long. If she did not wake up, she would become just another unfortunate body the desert swallowed up.

As May laid on the hot desert sand, slowly losing the last bit of life in her body, she began to twitch. Perhaps the alcohol was messing with her mind, or maybe the intense heat had stimulated some of May's nerves. Whatever it was, our fallen hero's arm began to twitch. With every movement, her arm got closer and closer to one of the pokeballs on her belt. Soon her arm was pressed up against the button of the pokeball. Just one more twitch, and the pokeball would be activated.

_Twitch_

As soon as May's arm pressed the button, the pokeball opened up, and out came a red swirl of energy that composed into May's Skitty. As Skitty's manifested onto the soft sand, she cringed at the sudden intense sunlight.

"Skit skit" Skitty muttered as she used her tail to block the sun from hitting her eyes fully._ "Where the hell are we, why is it so hot?"_

Skitty heard soft breaths around her, and turned around. "Skit!" Skitty gasped as she saw May lying on the ground seemingly motionless. Even though Skitty (and the rest of May's pokemon) was not particularly happy with May at the time, they still had a lot of love for her. She was their trainer...well former trainer...but she took care of all of them damnit, and right now she needed help.

Skitty ran over next to May's head and tried to tickle her nose with her tail to wake her trainer up. It didn't work, (unbeknownst to Skitty, May had collapsed from the strong tequila she put in her system last night, and fatigue. There was no way she was going to wake her up). Skitty then started to repeatedly slap May with her Tail

"Skit!" _"Wake up!"_

_**SLAP**_

"Skit Skit!" _"Please wake up May!_

_**SLAP**_

"Skitty Skit!" _"If you don't wake up, we'll all die!"_

As Skitty said this, she felt a sense of doom come over her. If she didn't get May to wake up, they would all die. She let that sink in for a moment. Everyone of them: Her, May, Combusken, Aron, Beautifly, and Barboach...they would all be dead, victims of the desert's hot sun. She could see the headlines and articles now...

**_EXTRA EXTRA! Human Steak cooks in desert: Young female quitter May Maple Mendoza was found dead in the desert with her Skitty by her side. The rest of her pokemon became deceased due to the hot desert sun destroying the internal stablilizer of the pokeballs in which they were confined..._**

Skitty cringed at the thought. She was now desperate to wake May up, or at least move her to a location that shaded her from the majority of the sun's ray. Skitty decided to try and wake May up one last time.

"SKIT!" she yelled right into May's ear "SKIT!" _"WAKE UP!"_

Nothing. May didn't move a muscle. Skitty felt her small heart sink. She now realized May wasn't going to wake up. Not one to give up, Skitty then bit into May's shirt, and decided to try and pull her. She had no idea where she was going to take her trainer, but the severity of the situation caused her to overlook that. She just wanted May to move in any way possible.

Alas, Skitty was not strong enough to move her trainer, despite May's small one hundred and ten pound body. Skitty pulled one more time, and fell onto her back, burning herself on the hot sand. "SKIT!" she cried as she quickly rolled over back onto her feet. She looked over toward her trainer helplessly.

"Skit...Skitty Skit..." _"Shit...She's not waking up...now what do I do?.."_

Just as Skitty said this, panting her guts out, a wind blew, bringing a refreshing blast of cool air that relieved her body and rewarded her nerves with a cold wave of pleasure.

"Skit Skitty" _"Ahhhh, that feels good. At least something a little positive!"_

While the wind did bring much needed freshness, it also kicked up a large strom of sand that grew in size as it neared May and Skitty. At first Skitty welcomed the sand as well, thinking it would keep her and May cooler by partially obscuring the sun, but as it enveloped them both, Skitty had quickly changed her mind. The sand scraped at her and May's skin, the wind propelling the clustered grains of sand like sharp circular knives. As Skitty cringed in pain, she noticed a shadow move in the shroud of sand.

At first she though her little eyes were playing tricks on her, but then she saw another out of the corner of here eye, then another, and another. Now Skitty was scared, there was more than one shadow, and they seemed to be circling her and May.

"Skit Skit!" she growled, trying to scare off whatever was surrounding them. It didn't seem to work, in fact it seemed to worsen the situation. Now not only could she see the figures, but hear them as well. They made disturbing scraping sounds as they moved through the sand shroud. It sounded like two sheets of sandpaper getting rubbed together roughly.

_Scrape Scrape_

_Scrape Scrape _

_Scrape Scrape_

Skitty's heart began to pound violently. These things, whatever they were, were not friendly. Why else would they use the sandstorm to shroud themselves while they surrounded her and her trainer? Skitty needed to think of a way to get May out of the sandstorm, and away from these desert shadows. Luckily for the normal type kitten, dire situations tended to help the mind think of possible solutions quickly.

As the shadows grew near, an idea popped into Skitty's mind. She ran over to May's waist and unbuckled her pokeball belt. She threw it onto the sand, and used her tail to methodically open each ball with her tail. One by one, May's pokemon were released. First came Barboach who flopped around on the sand, relatively unharmed by the scraping blasts of sand. Second came Aron who looked around nervously, frightened by being suddenly released into a harsh unrelenting environment (despite his armor protecting him from the blasts of sand). Third came Beautifly who tried to flutter about immediately after being released, but was thrown to the ground by the unexpected hail of sand. Lastly came Combusken who exited the pokeball with his arms crossed, but when the sand hit him, he completely abandoned his initial pose to protect his face from the buffeting sandstorm.

"Boach Barboach?" Barboach said as he flopped around and looked at the new disorderly surrounding._ "What's going on? where are we? why is there so much sand?"_

"Ron Aron!" Aron said as he trembled in his armor. _"You guys, this place is scary! The sand is moving too fast, and, and, and...IT'S LOUD!"_

"Skit Skitty" Skitty started, trying to get everyone to listen to her _"Hey everybody listen-"_ but Beautifly interrupted her.

"Beaut Beautifly?" Beautifly grumbled as he looked toward May curiously. _"Why is our 'charming' trainer May lying on the ground, not moving a mus-"_

"Bus Combusken?!" Combusken cried as he ran over to May and tried to shake her awake. Even though he was the maddest at May, he loved her deeply and freaked when he heard May was lying on the ground not moving. _"What do you mean May's lying on the floor?!"_

As soon as Combusken yelled, all eyes turned toward May, lying motionless on the floor. Before Skitty could warn them of the shadowy figures, they all ran over toward May, concerned for their trainer.

"Ron Ron Aron?" _"What's wrong with her, is she okay?"_

"Boach boach?" _"Is she breathing? Please tell me she's breathing!"_

"Beaut Beautifly!" _"Yes she's breathing! Look at her chest, it's rising and falling."_

"Busken, Combusken..." _"Oh May, I-I'm so sorry we turned our backs on you, please wake up, please! Oh god, she's not waking up, No! I don't want her to die with her last memory of us being mean little bastards that turned our backs to her!"_

"Beaut Beautifly!"_ "This is all your fault Combusken! If you hadn't riled us all up against May, she wouldn't be here trying to kill herself!"_

"COMBUSKEN!" _"FUCK YOU!"_

"Aron..." _"Please stop fighting..."_

"BEAUTIFLY!" _"NO, FUCK YOU! YOU MISERABLE OVERGROWN COCK!"_

"Boach" _"Hehe, fuck!"_

"SKITTY!" _"EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN!"_ Skitty yelled, gaining everyone's attention. "Skit Skit Skitty Skit!" _"We need to get May out of this sandstorm and into a shaded area immediately!"_

"Combusken" _"You're right"_ Combusken nodded, agreeing with Skitty "Combus Busken" _"We do need to get May out of here. So let's calm down and think of-"_

"SKIT_ "NO!" _Skitty yelled fearfully "Skit Skitty!" _"There's no time to think of a plan. We just need to get May away from here as quickly as possible!"_

Combusken was about to ask why when Aron interrupted him.

"RON!"_ "OH MY GOD, SOMETHING MOVED IN THE SAND!"_

All eyes turned toward the direction that Aron was looking in. Sure enough, they got a glimpse of a large shadow moving in the obscuring sand.

"BEAUTIFLY?!"_ "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"_

"Skitty Skit!" _"That's the reason we need to get May the hell outta here!"_ Skitty yelled as the sandstorm grew louder and fiercer "Skitty Skit Skitty" _"Those are the things that came with the sandstorm. They started circling May and I, so I released all of you to help me get May out of this storm. So without futher adieu, can we get to fucking work?!"_

They all nodded and got to work. Combusken wrapped his arm under May's armpits so he could pull her. Beautifly shot a String Shot on each of May's shoulders to create a loop. Aron placed the loop around his neck, so he could help Combusken pull May. Skitty placed Barboach in her mouth and jumped onto May's stomach so they wouldn't get lost in the storm while Combusken and Aron were pulling. Beautifly perched on May's head to act as a sort of turret, responsible for fending off the shadowy figures coming ever closer to the team.

"Combusken!" _"Let's get moving!'_

"Ron" _"You don't have to tell me twice!"_ Aron said as he started to walk, pulling May along with the String Shot attached to her shoulders. With the help of Combusken pulling May from under her arms, the group started to move.

"Ron Aron?" _"Hey Skitty, got any idea where we're suppose to go?"_

"Skit" _"Anywhere, as long as we get out of this haze of sand."_

"Bus Combusken?" _"Beautifly do you see any of those shadows?"_

"Beaut Beautifly"_ "No, not a danm thing!"_ he said as he looked left and right, trying to protest his eyes with his small arms "Beautifly Beaut" _"Can't see anything in this-wait I see one!"_

Beautifly uncurled his proboscis and unleashed a barrage of poisonous darts at the shadow in the sand. It was unknown if he hit anything since the shadows seemed to fade in and out of the sand, but he most likely missed since there was no sounds of impact or pained groans.

"Beaut Beaut!"_ "Shit, I think they're getting closer!"_ he turned around toward Combusken. "Beaut Beaut?" _"can't you move any faster?"_

"Busken!" _"Maybe if your fat ass wasn't on May's head!"_

"Beautifly Beaut Beautifly!" _"You calling me fat? I weigh less then you!"_ Beautifly shook his head "Beaut Beaut" _"God you're stupid..."_

"Skit Skitty!" Skitty yelled as she turned her head around to face Beautifly and Combusken_ "Can you both stop bickering, we aren't out of the storm ye-"_

"BOACH!"_ "I SEE ONE!"_

All the pokemon stopped and turned to face what Barboach was yelling about. Standing before them was a large silhouetted figure (about 5'8) with thick arms and legs with no toes. It appeared he was wearing a hat of some kind.

_"Ha-muah-ngus"_ the figure rasped, looking down at them menacingly. Suddenly, more shadows came in and out of sight, all flanking May and her pokemon. However, these shadows made a different rasp.

_"Turne, Turne"_

Beautifly and Barboach acted quickly. They raised their heads, despite the hash stand beating down on them from the opposite direction, and released a swarm of poisonous darts and a jet of pressurized water respectively.

_"NGUS!"_ the figure rasped as he backed away, causing the other figures to disappear into the sandstorm, it was almost as if they never existed. Once they were gone, and their presence was not felt, the group breathed a sigh of relief.

"Skit Skit" _"Good, their gone. Now let's get out of here."_

Combusken and Aron nodded as they started to move their legs once again, trudging aimlessly through the sandstorm. They could only hope that the direction they were going would get them out of the skin tearing haze. Minutes seemed like hours as the heat from the blistering sun began to worsen after each passing second, despite the rays not hitting them directly. Still Combusken and Aron trudged along, desperate to get their friends out of the storm. Fortunately they did not have to work alone, everyone pitched in. With the shadow threats gone, Beautifly turned to face Combusken and Aron, and flapped his wings to try and counter the opposite blowing winds and the sand they carried. Barboach shot squirts water at his trainer's in an effort to keep her cool. Skitty helped with this by fanning May with her tail to make the water dry faster.

After minutes of the tiring march, their efforts were rewarded. The wind died down, taking with it the obscuring sand. Soon the entire sandstorm had passed them, leaving them under the blazing sun, no haze to at least mask the direct rays.

"Skit...Skitty!" _"We...we did it!..We got out of the sandstorm!"_

"Beaut Beautifly..." _"Whoopty fucking do, now we get to burn under the direct sun..."_

"Boach Barboach" _"Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire."_

Combusken turned around. "Bus, Combusken bus." _"Look, negativity isn't going to get us anywhere. We should quit fighting and figure out what we're going to do next."_

"Skit Skitty" _"Thank you Comusken"_ Skitty thanked. "Skit Skit Skitty" _"Like what Combusken said, we should start figuring out what to do next, and what we need to do is find some shade..."_

"Barboach"_ "And water."_

"Skit Skitty" _"Right, so everyone will you please look out for somewhe-"_

"Ron!" _"I see something!"_ Aron interrupted. All eyes turned toward Aron's gaze once again. They soon saw what Aron was staring at: A sloping rock in the distance. By the looks of it's curvature, it looked like it could provide sufficient shade for the whole group.

"Beaut!" _"God bless you Aron!"_

"Bus Combusken!" _"Let's get moving quick!"_

* * *

_"That's in the fucking past May, get over it."_

_..._

_..._

_"I can't accept that he died for nothing."_

_..._

_..._

_"Pour a little for me, and move on."_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_May's eyes fluttered open, but she quickly closed them when an intense glare hit them. She immediately felt a sharp pain in her head, causing her to clutch it with her hand_

_"Ohhh my head, what the fuck did I do last night."_

_May sat upright, squinting to lessen the glare from the sun, and tilted her head down. She started to slowly open her eyes, but even without sight she could tell she was somewhere sandy. The soft grains running across her fingers were a dead giveaway. After her eyes were fully opened, and had become accustomed to the intense rays of the sun, she gave her surroundings the once over. It appeared she had stumbled into a desert._

_"Oh shit" May muttered, suddenly realizing the situation she was in "how the fuck did I stumble into a desert?" Right as she said this in her mind, she remembered the night before. Her renouncement of being a trainer, her pokemon turning their backs on her, and her drinking binge._

_"That's what happened" she muttered "I got drunk to lessen the pain. Shit, that was a real smart move May, real smart. Now you've got yourself lost in a desert!"_

_May stood up and raised her hand to shield her eyes. She began to look in all directions, hoping to see something, anything that could help her out of this mess. There was nothing. Now May's heart dropped. She was lost without food, water, direction, and company...wait, her pokemon. May looked down toward her waist, and was shocked to discover her pokeballs were gone, as well as her fanny pack._

_"Oh no, oh god no" May said with a quivering voice "I-I'm alone here, I-In the most dangerous part of the badlands without ANYTHING!" May started to feel her temperature rise, making her sweat, which was NOT good in the situation she was in._

_"Calm down May, you need to calm down if you want to get out of this alive."_

_May started to take deep breaths to regulate her breathing and temperature, but no matter what she did, she doubted she was going to get out of this alive._

_"Think positive May. Remember, the desert is part of Route 111. I'm sure to find a path or something."_

_May once again gave her surroundings the once over. No path, just sand, a few rocks, and little desert plants littering the landscape._

_"Who am I kidding? I'm not going to find anything. I-I'm going to die here."_

_A lone tear fell from her eye as reality hit her hard._

_"I-I don't think I'll find any road here. Even if there was one, I-I won't last long to find it...I think...this is it..."_

_May fell to her knees. There was no way she was going to survive this, how could she? She had no hope left in her, all her drive and will had already been sapped out of her. There was nothing she had left. Her eyes closed and she began to look back at her life, and let out a half hearted chuckled. A history of cowardice, that's all she would leave behind. A sad family, and a history of cowardice._

_More tears streamed down May's face, as she laid down onto the hot piecing sand, and accepted her fate. She didn't know why this fate had befallen her, but it was happening. There was a reason for it._

_The sun continued to beat at her skin, burning it ever so slowly. Sweat dripped from her pores in small drips as the fluids in her body began to run out. Her mouth became dry, and her lips lost their healthy fullness. They became like the desert: dry and barren..._

* * *

"Bus Combusken" _"Finally...shade!"_

The group had finally reached the curved rock (which thankfully didn't turn out to be a mirage). They placed May under the shade, and then gathered around her to decide what to do next.

"Ron Aron?" "So what's the plan?" Aron asked as he turned toward Skitty. Skitty shrugged and turned toward Combusken. Combusken turned his head to look at someone else, but all eyes were on him.

"Busken...Combusken" _"Oh jeez, I don't know what to do.._."

"Beaut Beautifly"_ "Well it's your fault we're all out here, so it's only fair you come up with a plan."_

"Bus? Combusken!" _"My fault? Sure I said things in the heat of the moment, but you all joined. As far as I know, we are all guilty of driving May out here."_

"Skit Skitty..." _"You're right, we are. Oh I feel so ashamed, how could we have been so mean to poor May..."_

"Ron..."_ "I know, I feel like such an ass..."_

"Boach" "Me too."

"Beaut Beautifly"_ "Not me, I love May, she's my trainer"_ Beautifly turned toward Combusken and gave him a glare "Beaut Beaut" _"Cock here should be the one ashamed with himself."_

Combusken glared right back at Beautifly. "Bus Combusken Bus Busken" _"You know what, fuck you. You can put all the blame on me, I don't care. To tell you the truth, I'm still pissed with May."_ Combusken looked toward his unconscious trainer, and then back at the group _"not only that, but I think it's her fault that we're out here-"_

"Skit Skitty!" _"That's not true!"_ Skitty interrupted angrily. Combusken was taken aback by Skitty, especially since he had a crush on Skitty. "Skit Skit Skitty!" _"How dare you say that, this isn't May's fault, it's ours! At least have the decency to take some responsibility!"_

"Bus Combusken!" _"She's the one who betrayed us!"_ Combusken shot back. "Combusken!" _"She's the one who came all the way over here and passed out in the middle of a damn desert!"_

Skitty couldn't believe her ears. "Skit Skitty"_ "I can't believe you. And to think I actually kind of liked you..."_

This hit Combusken right in the feels. He opened his beak to say something, but couldn't.

"Ron Aron!" _"Guys please stop fighting!"_ Aron cried, trying to stop the group from arguing more "Aron!" _"We can save our bickering for later, right now we need to help May!"_

"Beaut Beaut"_ "I'm with you buddy"_ Beautifly said as he walked over to Aron "Beaut Beauty Beautifly" _"Words that actually make sense, let's go help May."_ Aron and Beautifly walked over to May and began to do what they could to help her. Beautifly began to flap his wings gently, blowing a cool gust of air toward her face. Meanwhile Aron used his sleek metal head to push sand into a pile next to May's head. He then used his head to lift May's head up and gently placed it onto the sand pile.

"Skit Skit" _"They have the right idea"_ Skitty said to Barboach. Barboach nodded in agreement, and the two made their way toward May's body. Combusken walked with them, trying to talk to Skitty.

"Busken Combusken"_ "Look, just because I'm mad at her doesn't mean I hate her. I love May. Hell, I was with her bef-"_

"Skit"_ "Don't talk to me"_ Skitty said before he could finish. Combusken stood where he was, shocked and feeling like crap. Skitty and Barboach continued over to May. Skitty then turned toward Beautifly.

"Skit Skitty Skit" "What can I do to-"

"Beaut Beautifly" _"Leave me alone"_ Beautifly interrupted, taking Skitty off guard. "Beautifly Beautifly" _"Don't act like you're so innocent, you turned your back on May too you know."_

"Skit Skitty!"_ "And you didn't!"_

"Beaut" _"Maybe I did, but I'm not the one standing around and doing nothing."_

Skitty stood silent. She turned toward Barboach "Skit Skitty" _"I hate to admit it, but he's right. Let's see what we can do."_

"Boach Barboach!"_ "Hey, I can wet May! That'll keep her cool don't ya think!"_

"Skit Skitty" _"That's a good idea...you know, she does need water inside her too. Can you spray a Water Gun into her mouth?"_

Barboach shook his head. "Boach" _"Can't do that. The water that I use comes from a special bladder I have in my body here. That bladder has all kinds of germs and bacteria that might get May sick, and we don't need her to be sick right now. We already got enough on our hands...well we don't have hands, but you know what I mean."_

Skitty nodded "Skit Skit"_ "Very true, but we need to get something inside May. She, and all of us for that matter won't last long without water."_

Barboach thought for a moment, while Aron and Beautifly stopped what they were doing and looked over toward him. Finally after some thought, Barboach spoke up. "Boach Barboach" _"I know, underneath us!"_

"Skit Skitty?" _"Underneath us?"_

Barboach nodded "Barboach" _"yeah, even the desert gets rain. All the water seeps into the ground, while the rest probably gets evaporated by the sun. But this rock gives this path of ground shade, so it would take longer for the sun to evaporate it."_

"Skitty?" _"So your saying the water is somewhere underground?"_

"Boach!"_ "Exactly, all we gotta do is dig it up!"_

"Beaut Beautifly"_ "Hold on there"_ Beautifly said, joining in on the conversation "Beautifly Beaut" _"even if what you're saying is true, how would we separate the water from the sand and dirt?"_

Once again Barboach became silent and began to ponder on the question presented to him. "...Boach! Bar Barboach!"_ "May's shirt! We can use her shirt to place the sand and dirt in, and then squeeze it so the water can drain out!"_

"Beaut!" "Not a bad idea I must say!"

"Ron Aron!" "I'll start digging!"

"Skit Skitty!" "I'll help you!" Skitty proclaimed as she turned toward Beautifly and Barboach "Skit Skit" "You two work on keeping her cool, we'll get the water as fast as we can!"

The group nodded and went to work. Barboach and shot squirts of water onto May's body and face, while Beautifly resumed blowing cool blasts of air onto May. Skitty and Aron decided on a spot, and started digging. Aron used his broad armored head, while Skitty used her small paws to sweep away the sand. As they all worked, Skitty and Aron didn't notice Combusken slowly walk over to them.

"Busken"_ "Hey."_

Skitty looked up "Skit Skit?"_ "What do you want?"_ she asked impatiently.

"Combusken" _"Can I help you two?"_

Skitty scoffed "Skit?"_ "Now why would you want to do that? Wouldn't you rather sit down somewhere and berate May by yourself?"_

"Busken" _"I don't hate May"_ Combusken replied "Bus Busken"_ "I'm just mad at her. That doesn't mean I don't care about her well being."_

Skitty looked away from Combusken and continued digging with Aron. Combusken sighed "Combus Busken"_ "Look you don't have to like me or anything, but I want to help my trainer."_ Combusken knelt down and started to dig with his sharp claws. Everyone was silent as they worked. The tension was high, the only thing keeping them together was their drive to take care of their downed trainer. Soon Combusken, Skitty, and Aron dug deep enough and reached the wet dirt underneath the sand. Without a word, Combusken (since he had the longest reach) began to scoop out the moist dirt and pile it into a large clump. Once the clump was big enough, Aron took over and rolled it over near May.

"Barboach Boach" _"Now that the dirt has been taken out, someone need to take off May's shirt."_

"Beaut" "I'll do it" Beautifly volunteered "Beautifly" "After all, I am the only one with hands." Beautifly fluttered toward May's unconscious form and grabbed the shirt at the neckline. He then pulled, slowly lifting the shirt off of May's body, leaving her only with her bra. Beautifly then laid the shirt out and gestured for Aron to roll the dirt clump onto the shirt. Aron did as he was asked and laid the clump onto the shirt. Beautifly grabbed the shirt by the sleeves and bottom, and folded it into a sort of sack that held the dirt inside. He hovered over May with the shirt/sack in his hand, and held it over May's mouth. He looked over toward Combusken "Beaut Beautifly"_ "I can use some help with the draining."_

Combusken nodded, and walked over to Beautifly. He placed his wrists onto the sides of the shirt/sack (since his claws would tear through the shirt/sack) and squeezed. Slowly but surely, water started to stream from the shirt/sack and landed into May's mouth. Soon they squeezed out all the water they could, and placed the shirt back onto the sand so Aron could sweep the dirt off of the shirt.

Once May was hydrated (sort of), Beautifly nodded toward Combusken approvingly and landed back onto the sand to fan May with his wings once again. Combusken stood silent, watching his trainer's chest move up and down as she took oxygen into her lungs.

"Skit" "Thanks for helping us."

Combusken looked down and saw Skitty standing next to him. "Combusken" "I didn't do it to help you, I did it to help May."

Skitty was silent, and so was Combusken. They both looked on at the rest of the group as a temporary calm eased everyone after their immediate complications had been taken care of. The tension remained though, keeping a sense of worry preserved in the back of everyone's mind, for they were not out of the desert yet.

* * *

_May laid on the stifling sand as the intense rays burned her skin. Her seemingly dead sapphire orbs looking on at the vast barren landscape. It was impossible to escape, like death. Even if she did manage to get out, what was there to go to? She was a failure. She had failed in almost every possible way. She had failed at saving Mt. Chimney, she had failed at fulfilling her parents hopes and expectations, she had failed as a trainer, she failed her pokemon, and of course, she failed her friend Nick. She was nothing but a coward, and cowards didn't deserve to live in her mind. _

_As she laid on the sand sulking and waiting for death to end her miserable existence, she felt a cool breeze hit her back. It was refreshing, and despite her self loathing, she allowed herself to enjoy it. One last moment of joy before she passed on she figured._

_The breeze blew again, bringing a shiver down her spine. May savored the feeling, closing her eyes and letting it overwhelm her senses. Once the feeling had gone, she opened her eyes. _

_Much to her surprise, a violent haze of sand blew all around her, shrouding her surroundings and obscuring her sight. She sat up and shielded her eyes._

_"Where the hell did this sandstorm come from?"_

_As May sat, pondering over the origin of the sudden sandstorm, a low menacing but familiar growl crawled under her skin from behind. She slowly turned her head, to face the source of the demonic growl. Slowly out of the haze came a large four legged figure with long curved horns, and bloodshot eyes. May gasped when she gazed upon the figure, her eyes slowly trailing down toward the figure's neck where a collar was tied. __It read: Diablo_

_May gasped as she felt her whole body trembled. There was no way this was real, there was no way in hell Diablo could be here standing before her. But there he was, his muscular body shaking with energy, and mouth oozing with saliva as his intense eyes tore right through her. _

_"T-This can't be happening."_

_Diablo growled some more, taking a step toward May, causing her to spring to her trembling feet. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't for the life of her get anything to come out of her mouth. Diablo snarled and took another step toward May. Her body began to shake violently as she forced her legs, now as heavy as lead, to back away slowly. _

_Diablo saw her back away and let a monstrous bark escape his throat. This bark shook May to her core, and was too much for her to handle. She immediately turned around and started to run. She had no idea where she was going in the sandy haze, but she didn't care. She needed to get away from the beast she knew as Diablo._

_"Oh god, oh god!"_

_May's heart began to beat intensely, so much that she was afraid it might actually burst inside her chest. The blood rushing throughout her body heightened her sense of self preservation, but in turn was sending her over the edge. She could hear Diablo panting behind her, but she dared not look behind. The sand displacing underneath her feet made it hard to run, but she moved them as fast as she could anyways. Diablo's panting grew louder as he grew closer. May swore she could feel the damn mutt breathing onto her back._

_As May ran for her life aimlessly through the obscuring haze, she began to see a faint silhouette in the distance. It was large and imposing. Whatever it was, it looked like something she could use to take shelter from Diablo, who was now nipping at the back of her legs._

_"Come on May, you gotta move faster!"_

_Faster she ran, the silhouette becoming larger and larger until it was no longer a silhouette. Now May could see it was a tower made of adobe bricks. She had no idea why such a thing would be in the middle of the desert, but she didn't care, as long as she was safe from Diablo._

_May ran faster, now able to see the entrance. Diablo was now barking loudly, his saliva splashing onto her legs, he was so close! May yelped and when she got close, she heaved herself through the entrance and into the tower._

_SLAM_

_May gasped for air as she laid on a stone floor. She slowly lifted her head to look at her surroundings. It was pitch black. She turned around and saw a faint outline of light that formed in the shape of a rectangle. May guessed that the entrance had closed when she had jumped in, leaving Diablo outside away from her. She breathed a sigh of relief and got onto her still shaky legs._

_"I got away...thank god. Now I need to figure out where the hell am I."_

_May held out her hands, and started to walk slowly. "So far so good" she thought to herself as she walked without incident. She still couldn't figure out why Diablo was here, or alive. It was impossible, he had died over in Johto._

_As May was lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice the faint flickering light coming from farther away. She only noticed it when she got nearer, and the light began to illuminate her surrounding which appeared to be a narrow passage with an arched ceiling._

_"A light huh, wonder what that leads to."_

_May continued down the passage toward the light, it becoming brighter with each of May's steps. Soon May found herself in a large torch lit room. It was completely empty, nothing but a dirt floor. As May stared at the room confused, she suddenly heard a loud BANG behind her. She quickly spun around to see that a large stone slab now blocked the entrance to the passageway. _

_"Wha? How-I mean where the hell did the slab come fr-"_

_"CHIC!" _

_May spun back around, and gasped in horror at what she saw._

_Before her eyes, a Poochyena had a Torchic in his maw, locked in by with sharp canines. The little Torchic chirped in agonizing pain as the Poochyena began to crush him with the might of his jaws. May's lip began to quiver as she looked into the Torchic's eyes, pleading for help. She knew this Torchic._

_"L-Little Vato..."_

_Before Torchic could answer, Poochyena began to shake him violently, causing the little fire type to shriek sharply until he was silenced by a loud CRACK as his fragile neck was broken into two._

_May opened her mouth, wanting to scream, but only let out a whimper. Poochyena tossed the limp Torchic onto the ground and set his eyes on May. He began to growl, and slowly walk toward her. May backed herself onto the wall, panting heavily. There was no where to run. Then out of the blue, her eyes fell onto the wall she had planted herself on. just a few paces away was an opening. Not wasting any time, May went through the opening and saw it went up a flight of adobe stairs. She quickly ran up, leaving Poochyena and the dead Torchic behind._

_"What the fuck is going on!"_

_May reached the top and found herself in another room. This one was not empty however. May's already battered heart had to endure another surge of terror as another horrific scene came into view. A Combusken chirped pleading for his life as a Manectric stood over him, pinning him by his arms and legs. Combusken gave May one last helpless glance as Manectric bared his fangs and plunged them onto Combusken's face, starting to shake and tear at the flesh till it slowly started to come off._

_May was really starting to lose it. Tears streamed from her swelled eyes as she saw Combusken's face come off, and go down Manectric's throat. Manectric used his tongue to lap up the blood stained on his maw, and then turned his attention toward May, his lip quivering in anger._

_May shrieked and backed away, thinking she would hit the wall. Instead, she fell over and landed on her back, sending a shock of pain through her back. She sat up and saw that there was now an adobe wall before her. May looked in shock, what was going on? Before she could answer that question, an awful squishing noise behind her. She slowly turned around, and almost puked at what she saw. Laying on the blood stained dirt floor was her! Yes her! May looked on in a paralyzed trance at herself which wasn't her, but was. This poor other May had blood gushing out of her missing legs and left arm. She twitched and coughed out blood while a Mightyena sprawled out on the floor a coulpe of feet away from her, chewed on her dismembered arm with glee. Her two legs were also near him, gnashed and mangled. The dismembered May looked toward actual May and weakly raised her arm to point behind actual May. Actual May turned around and saw that the adobe wall now had an opening that had a flight of stairs that ascended up this tower of terror. Actual May was reluctant to keep going, since every room lead to a nightmare, but to see a maimed version of herself was too disturbing. She got off the floor and ran up the stairs, trying to get a hold of her gagging._

_"I'm in hell, I have to be. This can't be real!"_

_May finally made it to the top, and found herself in another empty room._

_"You have to be fucking kidding me, what's next?"_

_Almost as if answering her question, the room suddenly became pitch black. May's body began to shake once more. She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes._

_"Please god tell me this is a dream. Please have me wake up, I'm begging you!"_

**_"God will not help you May."_**

_May jumped at the sudden voice that came from the pitch black room. "W-What do you want from me huh? I've got nothing to give!"_

**_"I want you to accept the truth."_**

_"Please just leave me alone!" May said with a trembling voice "I-I've lost everything! What else could you possibly want!"_

**_"Like I said before, I don't want anything from you. I just want you to accept the truth."_**

_May began to sob "I-I don't k-know what you a-are talking about!"_

**_"Yes you do, you just keep pushing it away! Don't you realize you can never truly LIVE if you don't accept the truth!"_**

_"What truth! Why do you keep tormenting me!" May cried "I'm already broken god damnit, go find another punching bag!"_

**_"God fucking damnit May, are you really this fucking stupid? Who the hell do you think I am?"_**

_"Y-You're the mean voice t-that keeps t-torturing me."_

**_"No May, I'm the part of you that wants to liberate you."_**

_May stopped crying and opened her eyes to the black room. "W-Wha?"_

_As she said this, the room slowly started to gain light, revealing a smiling figure looking down at her with hazel eyes. He wore a red flannel shirt, blue jeans, and had a full beard and moustache. May gasped when she saw him._

_"You..."_

_**"That's right May, it's me...well not exactly me, just a part of you that manifested into your old friend to talk some damn sense into you."** _

_"So you're me?"_

_Nick nodded his head **"Yup."**_

_"If you're me, then why have you been hurting me?"_

**_"I'm not the one hurting you, what's hurting you is the deep seated problem that has taken root in our head. I've been trying desperately to help you realize it and get rid of it, but you keep avoiding it."_**

_"I already know the problem" May replied "it's dog pokemon, they killed you Nick. Whenever I-"_

_**"No"** Nick interrupted **"You are not scared of pokemon or dog pokemon for that matter. Never were"**_

_"What do you mean?"_

**_"The reason you freak around them is because they are triggers to your true problem. The real fear that you can't come to terms with."_**

_May was silent for a moment. She was never scared of pokemon?_

_"Then what is my fear?"_

_**"You already know"** Nick replied** "it's been in front of your face for so long...you just don't want to see it."**_

_"Nick I don't understand!" May replied angrily "you keep saying I know, but I don't damnit!"_

_**"Think girl think!"** Nick said with a louder voice **"who got me killed?"**_

_"Life did!" May yelled "You died for a reason!"_

_**"What was the reason then?"** Nick asked **"So you learn never to hesitate again? So far from what I've seen, that hasn't stopped." Nick began to pace around May with a smile on his face "let's see, how many times have you hesitated since I've died, hmmmm. First was that battle you had with Wattson I believe, couldn't even help Little Vato. The only way you won was by dumb luck. Lets see...Ah yes, next was of course your failure to stop Mt. Chimney. Oh you were so determined and desperate to get to the top and stop those mean 'ol Magmas to save your deteriorating mind...Yet you failed. Fainted like a chavala."**_

_May looked down in shame as Nick continued._

**_"And finally was your last battle, the one with Flannery...Hehe, I wouldn't really call it a battle though, you did absolutely NOTHING! You gave up like two minutes into the match!"_**

_"I know" May said sadly "I'm a failure..."_

_**"Why don't you shut the fuck up!"** Nick said angrily, causing May to gasp and look up._

_**"My god May, what the hell have you become? What happened to the real May, the one who wouldn't cry and moan like a miserable whore. The May I knew wouldn't give up or quit, but I guess that May's gone. Now that's left is...this"** Nick said "this" with a disgusted voice. He then just shook his head and looked May right in her sapphire eyes.** "Huh, I guess this was all a waste of time. You've changed, and for the worst. There's no reaching you anymore. I can't believe YOU have replaced my May."**_

_May's face contorted with anger, her sorrow was replaced by rage as her blue eyes grew absolutely intense. "You fucking asshole, I'm your friend and you treat me like this!" She walked up to Nick, so her face was almost touching his "you know what, I don't even know why your death has affected me so profoundly. A prick like you deserved to die!"_

_**"Oh I'm so hurt"** Nick mocked, clutching his chest as he chuckled to himself **"Forgive me for being so brutal with you!"**_

_May's teeth gritted as she seethed with anger. She turned her back toward Nick and crossed her arms "You're a disgusting human being. The only reason I can see why you died now is because the world needed a few less assholes."_

_Nick began to chuckle. May's face grew red as she turned toward her old friend and glared at him "you think this is funny?"_

_Nick finally composed himself and looked toward May **"I didn't die for any reason May, that's what I've been trying to get you to understand."**_

_May's rage went away as she looked at her friend with a puzzled expression on her face. "Huh?"_

_Nick walked over to May and placed his hand on her shoulder **"You have been beating yourself up because deep down inside, you think YOU killed me. You didn't want to accept that so you created this idea of fate to protect yourself from the guilt, but it was still in there. It manifested into this "fear" you had of pokemon, but you're not scared of pokemon, you are just scared of the truth."**_

_May stood silent with her mouth agape. Everything he said was absolutely right._

**_"Now May, tell us both what the truth is."_**

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"...There is no fate, and I killed you."_

_Nick shook his head **"you got the first half of it right, but the last part, not so much."**_

_"Of course I killed you" May said with a tear streaming down her cheek "I let Diablo out. If I didn't do that, you still would be alive today."_

_Nick wrapped his arm around May and gave her a much needed hug. **"You didn't kill me May, it was an accident. Accidents happen all the time. People live, and people die. We don't know when it will happen, but it will happen to us all eventually and without warning. But that's in the past now May, I'm dead, and you're alive, and that's the way it is."**_

_May stopped crying and looked up to Nick as he stroked her hair like a father comforting his daughter.** "Though you haven't been acting like you're alive, and that saddens me greatly. Didn't I tell you to pour a little for me and move on?"**_

_ May nodded "yeah."_

_**"Well then"** Nick started as he let go of May, reached into his shirt, pulled out a flask, and handed it to May. May grabbed the flask and looked back at Nick._

**_"Go ahead, pour a little for me, and move on. And when you wake up, actually LIVE okay. Enjoy life and fulfill your dreams for me."_**

_May nodded her head as an uplifting sense of freedom surged through her body. Her heart felt as if something heavy had been finally removed as a genuine smile formed onto her face. "I will live for you" she said as she opened the flask and let the tequila drip onto the dirt floor..._

* * *

"Beaut Beautifly" _"My wings, they're getting real sore!"_ Beautifly panted as he felt his whole body fatigue. As he gasped and stopped flapping his wings to give them a rest, May suddenly sprang up, inhaling deeply and opening her eyes. May's sudden movement took Beautifly by surprise and caused him to fall on his back. Combusken, Skitty, Barboach, and Aron eyes grew wide, and they sprang over to May to embrace their trainer, relieved she was now conscious.

"I'm back!" May said as she fell back down from the impact of all her pokemon jumping onto her (including Beautifly now, who had gotten up and perched himself onto her head to give her a hug).

"I'm so glad to see you all!' May panted, her lungs desperate for air after the intense epiphany. She looked over at her smiling pokemon, and smiled back at them...until she recalled them turning their backs on her. Then her smile faded and her face grew a frown. She sat back up, pushing her pokemon off her in the process, and scooted away from them. May's change in attitude shocked her pokemon. May stared at them with her frown for a short while, and then spoke.

"I'm back, and I remember...everything."

When May said everything, her pokemon took a step back. There was a certain venom to how she said that last word, it frightened them.

"I'm real surprised to see you all staring at me in the eyes, considering the last time I saw you, you all had your backs to me!" May stood up, and looked down at her pokemon, her sapphire eyes intense and full of rage that even the shade of the rock could not hide.

"Turned your backs on me" May said as she let out a chuckle that stemmed from disbelief "I can't believe I said that. You _ALL_ turned your backs on me, ON ME YOUR FRIEND!"

Her pokemon cringed at her loud scary voice. It was quite clear that the quitter May that had taken over their trainer was gone, and replaced with the old May, the May who didn't take kindly to disrespect and betrayal. Beautifly in particular knew this May well, he met her when she put him in his place back on Route 104.

"Well, I thought I was your friend, but I guess I was wrong. Friends don't turn their backs on each other, no matter what! Oh sure, I can understand feeling a little less respect for me after I gave up back in Lavaridge, but I would think you would at least be the ones to stay by my side during my hour of need, but no you didn't. You all left me to fend for myself!"

May began to pace around her pokemon.

"And after all I've done for you all! I've feed you, gave you my companionship and love, and you give me your backs!? That's fucked up! You know, I've met a lot of assholes in my life, but you all take the fucking cake!"

May's pokemon all tried to avoid her paralyzing gaze. To them it was worse than a Seviper's glare (which they would've taken any day to avoid this).

"But you know what, that's fine. I understand everything now. We are NOT friends, you all have made that quite fucking clear. So from now on, don't think of me as your friend, because I'm not. From this moment on, I am your trainer, and you _WILL_ respect me!"

May stopped pacing and looked down at her pokemon once again.

"Also, from this moment on, I will not refer to you as friends, you will just be my pokemon. You hear that MY FUCKING POKEMON!" May stopped and kneeled down in front of Combusken, who stood frozen in place.

"I'm disappointed with you the most" May said with a low angry voice "I thought_ you_ would be the most understanding, but you were the worst out of the whole jerk squad Little Vato...I should say Combusken because from now on, you are not my Little Vato. That was a friendly nickname I gave to you, but since our friendship is over, don't expect to hear it ever again."

Combusken was too shocked to say anything. He gasped and looked to the ground. His legs trembled by May's words, which stung like a Beedrill sting.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way, it's time for us to get out of this damn desert and head back to Lavaridge so I can get my next badge." May reached for her waist, but did not feel anything. She looked down and saw that her pokeballs were missing. "Shit, looks like I, or you all lost them while I was unconscious. Whatever, not going to be hell for me, but it'll be hell for you. Why you ask? Well because you are all going to suffer under the heat with me, ya hear!"

Her pokemon nodded their heads, still looking at the sand in shame.

"Good" May muttered as she suddenly realized her upper body was only covered by her bra. "Where's my shirt?"

Aron nodded over toward the ground. May picked it up and grimaced "how the hell did you get it so dirty?"

Beautifly looked up and was about to say something, but May quickly cut him off.

"I wasn't really asking any of you."

Beautifly looked back down at the ground as May wrung her shirt out, and placed it around her neck like a scarf. "Probably would've taken it off myself anyways since it's so damn hot." May wiped the sweat off of her forehead, and left the shade of the curved rock, stepping into the direct rays of the sun. She placed her hand over her eyes and began to scope out the area. Nothing really but sand and desert plants. Off in the distance she could see the outline or mountains, which she figured was the mountain chain that included Mt. Chimney. And if that was where Mt. Chimney resided, that's where Lavaridge was as well, making that her destination.

"Alright everyone" May said as she turned around toward her pokemon "let's get moving."

They all nodded, and started toward her (except for Barboach who could only flop around. Skitty picked him up with her mouth so he could keep up with everyone). Once the group was near their trainer, May started to walk in the direction of the mountains. They all followed her, not saying a word.

* * *

**And scene. Well everyone, looks like May is back to her old self, and what better way to show that then one of her famous angry rants! Sorry I took so long. I've just gone back to school this week, and it's been hectic (since this is my senior year and I got transferred to a new school). Though I cannot blame it all on going back to school. Another reason I took long is because I've been hesitant to write a coming chapter for certain reasons (which will be explained when the chapter comes out). That as all been resolved though, with the help of my friend Coolevilshark (thanks buddy), so hopefully the next chapter won't take so long.**

**I'm feeling pretty good today, so I think I'll give a shout out to everyone!**

**Shout out to my friend Coolevilshark, he's been a loyal reader since this story was called Pokémon: The Hoenn Story. Not only that, but he's a damn good author too. I would recommend checking out his stories i.e Shadow of the Kalos and PMD: Thieves of the Shadows (the latter of which will have an OC of mine. That OC being a pokemon version of a certain psychotic HFH Admin).**

**Shout out too my friend Razzorow, he's also been following my story since it was Pokémon: The Hoenn Story. A very good author as well, I recommend you all check out his stories too i.e Sam's Adventure, Sam's Spinoff! Hoenn Adventures!, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Time of Terror, and last but not least Ash Ketchum's Kanto Tour. (Sam's Spinoff! Hoenn Adventures! is set in the timeline of my story).**

**Shout out too my friend Nighttyger, she's been a regular reviewer, and I'm happy to have her enjoying my story. She also is writing a very good story that is set in an alternate universe of Pokémon SoulSilver. It's called Like You, and I definitely recommend you read it.**

**Shout out two my friend Reborn Dark Phoenix. He's also been a regular reviewer, and has kept me motivated (like the rest of you) with his positive feedback. I would recommend you check his stories out too (one in particular that's called Emerald: May Takes Hoenn By Storm. It is a retelling of Pokémon Emerald).**

**Shout out too my friend Pokémon Ranger is Amazing 123. He's a regular reviewer and accomplished fanfiction author that has written quite a few stories, so rather than list them all here, why don't you all go to his profile and see them yourselves.**

**Shout out too Aaron Crimson. I'm not sure he reads this story anymore, but he did give me my first review ever. I don't forget stuff like that, so thanks buddy! He also is writing a good story called Galactic Destruction in Hoenn. I really love this story, and it contains two very rare pairings. Dawn and Brendan, and May and Lucas.**

**Shout out too TreeLover1234. She's currently writing a story called Platinum which is a retelling of Pokémon: Platinum. I really enjoy it, and I encourage you all to go and read her story. Maybe even give her some feedback if you've got the time.**

**My last shout out will go to I.C 2014. She was a regular reviewer for Pokémon: The Hoenn Story, and I want to thank her for all the motivation she has given me. **

**Okay I said that was my last shout out, but I have one more. It goes out to all of you who read, favorite, follow, and review my story. Thanks everyone, you are all the greatest.**

**Oh and a special fuck you to Critics United! Stay the fuck away from my story.**

**-Sincerely Nicholas Adrian Hernandez (N-Badger97).**


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